Mark Zuckerberg expects the Metaverse will suffer ‘significant’ loss in the short term

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company expects to lose a significant amount of money in its Metaverse ventures in the short term at a shareholder meeting on May 26. He said the industry will be lucrative long-term and hopes Meta’s recent NFT product Instagram Reels will reap revenue for the company in the meantime. 

Zuckerberg said he believes the Metaverse strategy will experience significant losses for up to five years and will affect the company’s stock. Meta’s stock price has dropped by 43.4% in 2022 alone but the company is still bullish on the Metaverse.

His comments were made in response to a shareholder’s question related to return on investment at the meeting.

Meta’s products for an ‘embodied internet’, where users would be immersed in the Metaverse are likely not viable for 10 to 15 years, according to its board. 

‘We want to get the hardware to be as affordable as possible for everyone, and make sure the digital economy grows,’ Zuckerberg told shareholders, as reported by Bloomberg.

Eventually, the metaverse would generate revenue by becoming a platform for creators and businesses to sell virtual products and services.

Steps Meta are taking towards the Metaverse

In 2021, Meta invested US$ 10 billion to design its own Metaverse, with 10,000 employees working on the vision and another 10,000 to join the workforce.

In addition, Meta is focusing on developing multiple Metaverse projects, including hardware devices to enable users to experience the Metaverse through virtual reality. It opened its first hardware store in April 2022 to let users test hardware. 

The company has also launched crypto payment services in its Horizon Worlds VR application.

On top of an immersive Metaverse, Meta is also expecting to integrate NFTs into Instagram to enable users to implement NFTs into their profiles. Facebook will also have NFT features.

Photo: Facebook