"Meta has spent $36bn building the metaverse but has little to show for it"

" Meta has spent $36bn building the metaverse but has little to show for it \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nMeta, according to an Insider analysis of the firm's financial filings,\u00a0 has pumped $36 billion into its Reality Labs division since 2019 .\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nReality Labs houses the social-media giant's VR and metaverse arms, and remains massively unprofitable, posting a $3.7 billion operating loss on revenue of $285 million in its most recent quarter, down by almost half compared with the previous year.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nThe social media giant reported its second consecutive quarter of lower revenues this week, prompting some anxious\u00a0 investors to urge \u00a0Meta to refocus on its more reliable core businesses \u2014 ads and paid messaging.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nHowever, Mark Zuckerberg is\u00a0 continuing to pour billions \u00a0into his metaverse dream, arguing that it's the future of computing.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nThe Meta CEO said the company would lose a \"significant amount\" of money over a three to five-year period at this year's shareholder meeting.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nWhile Zuckerberg may believe hemorrhaging cash is the path to the metaverse's success and profitability, Insider has put together this list of highly successful tech innovations that cost just a fraction of how much Meta has already spent. These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-0 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"The iPhone, released in 2007, was in development for years at Apple, with some of the brightest minds in engineering working on the device.Reports vary as to how much Apple actually spent creating it. According to one anonymous senior executive, speaking in 2013, the iPhone cost $150 million to make.That's a low figure \u2014 tech publication The Information accounted for Apple's research and development spend between 2002 and 2007, coming up with a figure of $3.4 billion.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/2Myk9kuTURBXy9hNzcwNTg3NS00NmYwLTQ1ZmYtODI0MS0xNTEyNDQ2NjRkNzAuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/faNk9kuTURBXy9hNzcwNTg3NS00NmYwLTQ1ZmYtODI0MS0xNTEyNDQ2NjRkNzAuanBlZ5GVAszGzJXDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/tLJk9kuTURBXy9hNzcwNTg3NS00NmYwLTQ1ZmYtODI0MS0xNTEyNDQ2NjRkNzAuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKcPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"The iPhone, released in 2007, was in development for years at Apple, with some of the brightest minds in engineering working on the device.Reports vary as to how much Apple actually spent creating it. According to one anonymous senior executive, speaking in 2013, the iPhone cost $150 million to make.That's a low figure \u2014 tech publication The Information accounted for Apple's research and development spend between 2002 and 2007, coming up with a figure of $3.4 billion.\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/brPktkuTURBXy9hNzcwNTg3NS00NmYwLTQ1ZmYtODI0MS0xNTEyNDQ2NjRkNzAuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" \/> \r\n Apple's iPhone \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-1 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"Android, now the most popular mobile software in the world, started as a standalone startup and initially struggled to get any cash from investors. Insider previously reported that founder Andy Rubin received $10,000 and an undisclosed additional amount of seed funding from famed technologist Steve Perlman to keep the company going.Google in 2005 scooped Android up for about $50 million. The first Android phone, the HTC Dream, launched in 2008. In that period, Google spent about $6.6 billion on research and development, annual filings show, though that would include areas beyond just Android OS. There are now more than 3 billion active Android devices, according to Google \u2014 so Zuckerberg is well behind on bang for his buck.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/Pb2k9kuTURBXy9iYzViYjBiYS0yZDhjLTQxNGUtOGYzMS03NzJhMzFiODczNDEuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/7Jkk9kuTURBXy9iYzViYjBiYS0yZDhjLTQxNGUtOGYzMS03NzJhMzFiODczNDEuanBlZ5GVAszGzJXDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/JEzk9kuTURBXy9iYzViYjBiYS0yZDhjLTQxNGUtOGYzMS03NzJhMzFiODczNDEuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKcPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"Android, now the most popular mobile software in the world, started as a standalone startup and initially struggled to get any cash from investors. Insider previously reported that founder Andy Rubin received $10,000 and an undisclosed additional amount of seed funding from famed technologist Steve Perlman to keep the company going.Google in 2005 scooped Android up for about $50 million. The first Android phone, the HTC Dream, launched in 2008. In that period, Google spent about $6.6 billion on research and development, annual filings show, though that would include areas beyond just Android OS. There are now more than 3 billion active Android devices, according to Google \u2014 so Zuckerberg is well behind on bang for his buck.\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/C9MktkuTURBXy9iYzViYjBiYS0yZDhjLTQxNGUtOGYzMS03NzJhMzFiODczNDEuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" \/> \r\n Android \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-2 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"As yet, fully self-driving cars are not widely available, despite major tech firms and startups\u00a0plowing billions of dollars into their development.Again, estimates here vary. McKinsey estimated in 2021 that investors had spent around $100 billion since 2010 developing the technologies core to autonomous vehicles, such as radars and cameras and lidar. That outstrips Meta's $36 billion on the metaverse, but is over a considerably longer period.On a company basis, the estimates are more conservative, and come in cheaper than Meta's fledgling VR platform.The New York Times in 2021, citing Pitchbook, suggests specific firms will each spend up to $10 billion each getting autonomous vehicles on the road. The Information estimates that total investment by companies to bring autonomous cars to market comes in around $27 billion, including Waymo, Cruise, Motional, Zoox, and Argo AI.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/lKok9kuTURBXy8xNjVkZmRmNy03NmQ3LTQ0MzEtOWE0MS0wMTlkODMwZWQ2MTYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/fhDk9kuTURBXy8xNjVkZmRmNy03NmQ3LTQ0MzEtOWE0MS0wMTlkODMwZWQ2MTYuanBlZ5GVAszGzJXDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/X36k9kuTURBXy8xNjVkZmRmNy03NmQ3LTQ0MzEtOWE0MS0wMTlkODMwZWQ2MTYuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKcPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"As yet, fully self-driving cars are not widely available, despite major tech firms and startups\u00a0plowing billions of dollars into their development.Again, estimates here vary. McKinsey estimated in 2021 that investors had spent around $100 billion since 2010 developing the technologies core to autonomous vehicles, such as radars and cameras and lidar. That outstrips Meta's $36 billion on the metaverse, but is over a considerably longer period.On a company basis, the estimates are more conservative, and come in cheaper than Meta's fledgling VR platform.The New York Times in 2021, citing Pitchbook, suggests specific firms will each spend up to $10 billion each getting autonomous vehicles on the road. The Information estimates that total investment by companies to bring autonomous cars to market comes in around $27 billion, including Waymo, Cruise, Motional, Zoox, and Argo AI.\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/X1NktkuTURBXy8xNjVkZmRmNy03NmQ3LTQ0MzEtOWE0MS0wMTlkODMwZWQ2MTYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" \/> \r\n Self-driving cars \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-3 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"Microsoft debuted its first Xbox console in 2001 after investing (or losing) more than $4 billion on its development.It took just 20 months to go from conception to launch, according to Dean Takahashi, author of Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution.\u00a0The console is one of the best-selling games consoles of all time, and it has about 14% market share globally.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/hsQk9kuTURBXy80MDE5ODgzMi00NWQzLTRjNDYtODMxZi1hNjE4N2FkZGE4NzMuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/di6k9kuTURBXy80MDE5ODgzMi00NWQzLTRjNDYtODMxZi1hNjE4N2FkZGE4NzMuanBlZ5GVAszGzJXDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/T_vk9kuTURBXy80MDE5ODgzMi00NWQzLTRjNDYtODMxZi1hNjE4N2FkZGE4NzMuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKcPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"Microsoft debuted its first Xbox console in 2001 after investing (or losing) more than $4 billion on its development.It took just 20 months to go from conception to launch, according to Dean Takahashi, author of Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution.\u00a0The console is one of the best-selling games consoles of all time, and it has about 14% market share globally.\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/Xm4ktkuTURBXy80MDE5ODgzMi00NWQzLTRjNDYtODMxZi1hNjE4N2FkZGE4NzMuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" \/> \r\n The Xbox \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-4 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"Amazon lost hundreds of millions of dollars on its Alexa-powered device Echo before it was released in 2014, per Wired.Founder Jeff Bezos himself authorized the spending, met with the development team every other day and helped make product decisions.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/zkpk9kuTURBXy81ZGExMDc4MS1hMWI2LTRiZjYtOGUwZi00MjlkMzAzNzA0MmYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/7Rdk9kuTURBXy81ZGExMDc4MS1hMWI2LTRiZjYtOGUwZi00MjlkMzAzNzA0MmYuanBlZ5GVAszGzJXDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/Sxjk9kuTURBXy81ZGExMDc4MS1hMWI2LTRiZjYtOGUwZi00MjlkMzAzNzA0MmYuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKcPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"Amazon lost hundreds of millions of dollars on its Alexa-powered device Echo before it was released in 2014, per Wired.Founder Jeff Bezos himself authorized the spending, met with the development team every other day and helped make product decisions.\" width=\"790\" height=\"593\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/tc2ktkuTURBXy81ZGExMDc4MS1hMWI2LTRiZjYtOGUwZi00MjlkMzAzNzA0MmYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CUcLD\" \/> \r\n Amazon Echo speaker \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n <img class=\"image lazyloaded imgWithMetaData mini-gallery-image mini-gallery-image-number-5 swiper-lazy swiper-lazy-loaded\" title=\"The PlayStation is the world's most popular gaming console, with more than 80% market share.\u00a0Its maker, Sony, spends less than $5 billion on research and development, according to analysis by the\u00a0Guardian, noting that budget covers not just its consoles, but also its rival to Meta's metaverse vision, PlayStation VR. And unlike Meta, Sony makes about a quarter of its revenue from its gaming division.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/9Hdk9kuTURBXy8wMDMwNTc3ZS1iNWRjLTQ4ZDEtYWQ4Yi0xN2VjNDE3ZWYzMTYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CT8LD3gABoTAF 790w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/yjMk9kuTURBXy8wMDMwNTc3ZS1iNWRjLTQ4ZDEtYWQ4Yi0xN2VjNDE3ZWYzMTYuanBlZ5GVAszGzJTDw94AAaEwBQ 198w, https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/IFCk9kuTURBXy8wMDMwNTc3ZS1iNWRjLTQ4ZDEtYWQ4Yi0xN2VjNDE3ZWYzMTYuanBlZ5GVAs0Bi80BKMPD3gABoTAF 395w\" alt=\"The PlayStation is the world's most popular gaming console, with more than 80% market share.\u00a0Its maker, Sony, spends less than $5 billion on research and development, according to analysis by the\u00a0Guardian, noting that budget covers not just its consoles, but also its rival to Meta's metaverse vision, PlayStation VR. And unlike Meta, Sony makes about a quarter of its revenue from its gaming division.\" width=\"790\" height=\"591\" data-original=\"https:\/\/ocdn.eu\/pulscms-transforms\/1\/U6VktkuTURBXy8wMDMwNTc3ZS1iNWRjLTQ4ZDEtYWQ4Yi0xN2VjNDE3ZWYzMTYuanBlZ5GVAs0DFs0CT8LD\" \/> \r\n Sony PlayStation \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n JYOTI MANN \r\n "

"Meta has spent $36bn building the metaverse but has little to show for it"

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