2022 has proven to be a difficult year for the tech industry. Almost all of the major technology stocks have fallen dramatically this year, as has the cryptocurrency market. Mark Zuckerberg’s meta is especially struggling.
Lost 64 percent
Meta has lost 64% of its share price since the name change. As of October 2021, the stock still trades at $323.57 per share. There is currently almost nothing left and the company is trading at a price of $114.74. “Meta entered 2022 with a new name and a new vision for the future. Our job at Reality Labs is to bring that vision to life,” writes Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Reality Labs.
“We never expected it to be easy or easy, but this year was even harder than expected. Macro challenges around the world, coupled with the pressure on the Meta, have created the perfect storm of skepticism about the investments we are making,” continued Bosworth.
For those who don’t know, Reality Labs is a sister company to Meta and is responsible for the company’s metaverse. Reality Labs is, among others, the party that developed the Oculus Rift VR headset in 2016 and was later commissioned to build Metaverse for the company. “The long-term value of these technologies emerges when they are adopted by developers and other creatives,” said Bosworth.
loss of billions of dollars
However, so far it seems that the world is not waiting for a virtual metaworld. Mark Zuckerberg’s company already doesn’t have the best reputation for privacy, so it seems unlikely that people would want to enter Zuckerberg’s virtual world. In total, Meta’s Metaverse division lost $3.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
In the same quarter of 2021, Meta reported a loss of $2.63 billion for this division. According to Bosworth, currently about 20% of all meta-investments go to Reality Labs. The other 80% goes to things like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, the companies that really thrive for Meta.
“It is a level of investment that we believe is necessary for a company committed to staying ahead in one of the most competitive and innovative industries in the world,” Bosworth continued. In November, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated that despite billions in losses and the fact that they laid off 11,000 people, he still believes in the Metaverse.
Future of the Metaverse
The big question is what exactly is the future of the metaverse. Meta clearly hopes to become a leader in the industry, but faces competition from many decentralized projects. Take the Open Metaverse Alliance, for example, a group of companies that includes Dapper Labs, The Sandbox, Animoca Brands, Alien Worlds, MetaMetaverse, and Unstoppable Domains.
This group of companies is really trying to push a blockchain-based standard. A move that is diametrically opposed to Meta’s goals. With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see who wins the battle of the metaverse. If Meta’s stock price is any indication of the success of the centralized version of Metaverse, then Team Decentralized is in good shape right now.
Source: Btc Direct
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Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
