TechFlow reports that on March 21, according to Business Insider, the widely circulated claim—“Meta has abandoned the metaverse after losing over $80 billion on it”—is a misinterpretation. Peter Kafka, Business Insider’s chief media reporter, wrote that the $80 billion in losses stems from Meta’s Reality Labs division; however, Reality Labs’ scope extends far beyond the metaverse, encompassing hardware products such as Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban AI glasses. Moreover, the division remains fully operational: its losses exceeded $19 billion in 2025 alone, and it will continue operating into the future.
At the strategic level, Meta maintains that the metaverse is not confined to head-mounted displays—smartphones and smart glasses also fall within the metaverse’s purview. Objectively speaking, though, since Mark Zuckerberg’s high-profile 2021 declaration that “the future belongs to the metaverse,” his public statements have markedly de-emphasized the metaverse, shifting focus entirely toward AI and the development of “superintelligence.”
Kafka argues that whether it’s the metaverse or AI, both reflect Zuckerberg’s long-standing core objective: reducing dependence on Google and Apple’s platforms and establishing an ecosystem gateway under Meta’s own control.
