Meta has cut spending on metaverse projects and shifted resources toward wearables and AI-powered glasses in one of the company’s most significant strategic moves in years.
Key points:
- Meta cuts spending on metaverse projects and shifts focus to wearable AI devices.
- Virtual reality platforms like Horizon Worlds have stalled as the market shifts toward smart glasses.
- The move is part of the industry’s trend toward lightweight devices powered by artificial intelligence.
The move coincides with growing investor doubts about the economic viability of virtual worlds and virtual reality headsets in the long term, according to a statement cited by the BBC on Friday from a company representative.
Meta’s Bets on the Metaverse Collapsed as User Base Stopped Growing
The company has spent more than a decade and billions of dollars in the metaverse, based on CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the future of computing. This ambition led the company to change its name from Facebook to Meta in 2021, indicating the company’s full commitment to the development of immersive digital spaces.
Momentum for these projects waned as Meta’s main virtual reality platform (Horizon Worlds) struggled to retain users and sales of virtual reality glasses failed to justify the volume of investment in this sector.
On the other hand, Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Meta plans to reduce its spending on metaverse projects by 30%, which led to a 3% increase in the company’s stock price due to the positive market reaction in hopes of an eventual return to balance. A company representative said it was not planning “broader changes” and declined to comment on the possibility of laying off employees on Metaverse teams.
Mark Zuckerberg and meta-platforms $META should significantly reduce the resources needed to build the metaverse
Executives reportedly discussed possible budget cuts of up to 30% for metaverse group next year – Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/PAuEYuMnhN– Evan (@StockMKTNewz) December 4, 2025
The company believes that there is an opportunity for faster growth in the field of wearable devices supported by artificial intelligence, especially its new smart glasses which were launched in September and saw higher demand than expected, as the new models provide a screen on the lenses capable of describing the real environment, recognizing objects and translating texts, making it one of the first products that successfully integrated artificial intelligence into consumer devices in a practical and attractive way, and Meta hopes to accelerate its work in this area.
This step also reflects the dominant movement in the sector; U.S. and Chinese companies are rushing to launch wearables and glasses powered by artificial intelligence, and are betting on attracting users to lightweight devices and round-the-clock assistance rather than immersive virtual environments.
Meta-investors reject a request to add Bitcoin to the company’s treasury.
A request was filed on May 28 encouraging the company to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet, and the request was significantly rejected by Meta investors in June; The proposal received 3.92 million votes of approval (0.08% of total shares) and approximately 5 billion votes of rejection, and the outcome was decided from the start thanks to Mark Zuckerberg holding 61% of the votes.
This proposal was presented by Bitcoin supporter Ethan Peck. He asked the company to allocate part of its $72 billion cash reserve to buying foreign exchange to protect against inflation and falling real yields on funds and bonds. Peck cited BlackRock, which allocated a small percentage of the budget to Bitcoin, and he submitted the request on behalf of his family’s investments in Meta.
Ethan Beck is a Bitcoin investment manager at Strive and has launched similar campaigns to push other giant tech companies to adopt similar measures.
The article Meta Company Cuts Spending in the Metaverse and Bets on AI Glasses and Wearables appeared first on Cryptonews Arabic.