Facebook CEO: Metaverse Will Be ‘Holy Grail of Social Experiences’

Read the full article by Morgan Chittum here

“This is not an investment that is going to be profitable for us anytime in the near future,” Zuckerberg said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Monday.

Key Points:

• CEO Zuckerberg predicted that the company could bring 1 billion people into the metaverse within the next decade

• Facebook expects a total revenue ranging from $31.5 billion to $34 billion in Q4.

• Facebook will spend more than $10 billion on its metaverse division, called Facebook Reality Labs, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Monday.

• The money will go toward augmented and virtual reality products, services and other efforts to “develop the next generation of online social experiences,” he said.

• “This is a major area of investment for us and an important part of our strategy going forward,” Zuckerberg told investors. “Our goal is to help the metaverse reach a billion people.”

• However, the social media giant views its metaverse project as more of a marathon than a sprint so to speak. Zuckerberg said the investment is “long-term” but will eventually “help bring the metaverse to life.” “This is not an investment that is going to be profitable for us anytime in the near future,” he said, adding that the company expects to see the investment grow even further in the next several years. “[However, the metaverse will be] the holy grail of social experiences.”

• The company’s revenue increased to $29 billion in Q3 from roughly $21.5 billion on year, missing analysts’ expectations of $29.6 billion. Facebook expects a total revenue ranging from $31.5 billion to $34 billion in Q4, according to its financial report.

• “We made good progress this quarter and our community continues to grow,” Zuckerberg said. “I’m excited about our roadmap, especially around creators, commerce, and helping to build the metaverse.”