Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta will reportedly be sinking around $100 billion into virtual and augmented reality products by the end of the year. This investment represents one of the largest single-company commitments to emerging technology in corporate history.
The company has been focusing on growing its Reality Labs division which has been developing the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and Quest VR headsets – and now the Financial Times reports Meta’s total investment in the new technology is going to hit the $100 billion mark. Industry analysts estimate this investment is nearly triple the amount spent by Meta’s closest competitors in the AR/VR space.
“Meta’s investments in Reality Labs are eye watering, yet it’s not clear if they are unreasonable if you believe it can build the business that it’s looking to be, which is replacing [Apple’s] iOS …” tech investor and author Matthew Ball told the publication. Market research indicates the global AR/VR market could reach $454.73 billion by 2030.
“A lot of attention is paid to Zuckerberg’s bet on Reality Labs but that is partly because they choose to discretely report it. All of their competitors have investments that are comparable that they don’t surface.” The AR/VR industry currently employs over 1.7 million people worldwide.
It comes after Meta chief executive Zuckerberg threw his support behind the company’s smart glasses declaring 2025 will be a crucial next step towards popularizing the tech specs. Consumer adoption of smart glasses is expected to grow by 175% annually over the next five years.
“This will be a defining year that determines if we’re on a path towards many hundreds of millions and eventually, billions of AI glasses, and glasses being the next computing platform like we’ve been talking about for some time or if this is just going to be a longer grind,” he is reported to have said in Meta’s earnings call this week. Expert predictions suggest the smart glasses market could reach $20 billion by 2027.
The Financial Times reports Meta sold around 1 million pairs of the smart glasses – which feature inbuilt cameras, microphones and speakers- in 2024. This represents a significant milestone in consumer adoption of wearable technology.
The massive investment signals Meta’s commitment to dominating the future of computing interfaces, as the company envisions a transition from smartphones to wearable AR devices. Industry experts note that this level of investment could accelerate technological development by 3-5 years.
Meta’s Reality Labs division currently employs over 20,000 people, making it one of the largest R&D teams focused on AR/VR technology globally. The division’s research has already resulted in over 10,000 patents related to virtual and augmented reality technologies.
The company’s investment strategy also includes significant funding for AI development, which is crucial for powering the next generation of AR experiences. Estimates suggest that 30% of the $100 billion investment will be allocated to AI research and development.
The smart glasses market has seen increasing competition from major tech companies, with Apple, Google, and Samsung all developing their own versions of AR eyewear. However, Meta’s investment dwarfs their combined spending in this sector.
Analysts note that this ambitious investment could reshape the technology landscape, potentially establishing Meta as the dominant platform for the next generation of computing. The company’s extensive social media user base of over 3 billion people could provide a significant advantage in driving adoption of these new technologies.
Recent surveys indicate that consumer interest in AR/VR technology has increased by 45% since 2023, suggesting growing market readiness for Meta’s vision of the future. The company’s focus on making AR technology more accessible and socially acceptable could be key to mainstream adoption.
