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Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

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Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#21

Post by atonse »

jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

What makes it even worse is that so much of this money is made by keeping people addicted and messing up the mental health of teenagers.

It's the dirtiest kind of money.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#22

Post by antisthenes »

jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

Consider that these $42B didn't just vanish into thin air. A lot of it went to wages, which people used to buy homes, food and other goods, stimulating other parts of the economy.

Although I do agree with your general sentiment.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#23

Post by dpflan »

DidISayTooMuch wrote: post #5

You gotta burn money to make money. This much cash burn is required to build the next gen level of infrastructure. Its a big bet for the company, let's see how it pays out. Haters going to say its all in vain, but no one knows how the future will look. Stock at ATH btw.

> "Note: Meta began reporting Reality Labs as its own segment in Q4 2020."

RL has been burning money for a few years and similar rates, and this just happens to be the highest one at the moment. Q4 seems to always stand out as the largest loss each year. (According to the "Quarterly losses for Meta's Reality Labs" chart in the article).

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#24

Post by HDThoreaun »

SteveNuts wrote: post #17
dboreham wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meanwhile, stock is up 20% today..

Stock buybacks and announcing a new dividend will definitely do that on its own.

Metas buybacks are nothing new. The dividend pales in comparison to the buybacks. The dividend is $5 billion a year which is the amount theyve been buying back every quarter recently.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#25

Post by Ancalagon »

antisthenes wrote: post #22
jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

Consider that these $42B didn't just vanish into thin air. A lot of it went to wages, which people used to buy homes, food and other goods, stimulating other parts of the economy. Although I do agree with your general sentiment.

Or could've been used to keep employees instead of laying them off and move them to work in other areas of the business and retrain.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#26

Post by danzer420 »

jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

you realize that the 42 billion dollars isn't burnt in a furnace right? it was spent on research, labor, hardware. that money reaches new hands. it can be spent again.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#27

Post by spencerflem »

danzer420 wrote: post #26
jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

you realize that the 42 billion dollars isn't burnt in a furnace right? it was spent on research, labor, hardware. that money reaches new hands. it can be spent again.

the time spent by the people working on it can never be gotten back

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#28

Post by pj_mukh »

jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

Given how everyone’s now being ham-fisted into RTO, I actually think this (private) money should’ve been spent earlier.

Solve the management boogie man of remote collaboration, unlock Billions in value by making remote workforces more collaborative.

Hell, would that also have downstream affects of reducing housing demand in HCOL areas and alleviating homelessness…maybe!?

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#29

Post by GaelFG »

I assume most of losses come from headsets R&D, and subjectively i would bet on them too, the progress are amazing, a today 350$ headset have better quality than 5 year ago 1500-2k ones. Honnestly I thinks VR/AR is becoming really amazing for games, if a quest 3 quality headset is available for less than 400$ in a year of two i'm expecting a massive adoption in a few years.

There is currently a bit of content problem : no enough gamer with headsets to attract spendings so no enough games to attracts gamers, so not enough gamers with headsets ...

But I went again on vr game development some months ago and the technical progress are really sweet and major downside are being removed.

Re: Meta's Reality Labs loses record $4.65B ahead of Apple's Vision Pro launch

#30

Post by leetharris »

jug wrote: post #6

> The metaverse division has now lost more than $42 billion since the end of 2020 I can't help but think of how this cash could have been spent on something that benefited everyone (in the dire covid/postcovid years no less) rather than the world's most expensive trial on whether people would rather meet in a MMO world than with their web cameras in a meeting app. Makes Star Citizen's $0.7B crowdfunding look cheap.

This is such an incredibly pessimistic and simplistic view. It is a private company funding research that will eventually lead to revolutionary devices.

Imagine if people in the 1940s/50s said, "wow we could have spent all this money on something besides these giant vacuum tube machines that just add up a few numbers."

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