Zuckerberg's "Metaverse" losses exceed $40 billion

By making a long-term bet on the "Metaverse" project, which Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg says is the direction the world is headed, the company has suffered over $40 billion in losses, and that's not the limit, writes Business Insider.

This doesn't appear to have taken away Wall Street's optimism for the project, as it has ignored the loss of the massive investment Zuckerberg is making in the "Metaverse."

Reality Labs, the metaverse division of Meta (NASDAQ:META), collectively lost more than $40 billion in the second quarter. However, Meta's stock rose 7% on Wednesday after hearing Zuckerberg explain why he keeps spending on this dubious and so far dark topic.

“This is a very long-term bet. I cannot guarantee you that I will be right about this. But I really think that this is the direction the world is moving,” Zuckerberg explained.

He says he is confident that a more immersive version of the internet will become the most common in the coming years.

“You know, today 1 billion or 2 billion people wear glasses. I think that in the future it will all be "smart glasses", and the time we spend on TVs and computers will be like virtual reality. It's the richer ways people communicate through the mobile apps that we have, from text to photos and videos, this ongoing trend towards greater immersion."

The main focus of investors during Meta's reporting was on projects in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as the growth and success of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) rival Threads.

Wall Street's ignorance of loss-making spending on the "Metaverse" is likely due to Meta's improvement in overall business performance: its revenue increased in the quarter and will increase again in the next. Meta also laid off numerous employees and cut costs in other ways.