Meta Reality Labs, a division of Meta, saw substantial financial losses in 2022, amounting to 13.7 billion dollars in operating losses. This figure is a significant increase from the already substantial loss of 10.2 billion dollars incurred in 2021. The company’s revenue from Reality Labs dropped from 2.27 billion dollars in 2021 to 2.16 billion dollars in 2022.
Meta has been heavily investing in virtual and augmented reality for several years, acquiring major software companies such as the creators of Beat Saber and Supernatural workout app developer Within.
The company has not disclosed the headcount numbers for Reality Labs, but prior to layoffs late in 2022, it was reported to have 17,000 employees. The bulk of the company’s spending in this area is on staffing and hardware development.
Despite the substantial losses, Meta CFO Susan Li stated that the company expects to incur even higher annual losses for Reality Labs in 2023. Li emphasized that Meta will continue to invest significantly in this field due to the significant long-term opportunities that the company sees. Li referred to Meta’s efforts in AR, VR, and metaverse software as a “long-duration investment”.
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