Zuckerberg's 'All-in on Metaverse' Changing... "Messenger Will Drive Revenue Growth"

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, stated that the messenger business, including WhatsApp, will drive revenue growth faster than the metaverse (3D virtual reality). Since the company has been concentrating its full capabilities on the metaverse, attention is focused on whether there will be a change in Zuckerberg's 'all-in on the metaverse' strategy.

According to major foreign media on the 17th (local time), Zuckerberg said at the first all-hands meeting held after announcing the layoff of 11,000 employees, "We talk a lot about very long-term opportunities like the metaverse, but as we work on monetizing WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, in reality, the business messenger segment will become the next major pillar of our business."

This statement marks a shift from the previous focus on investing in metaverse hardware and software such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, following the long-term goal announced last year to build an immersive metaverse.

Last October, Zuckerberg changed the company name to Meta and announced plans to invest $10 billion (about 13.4 trillion KRW) over the next year in developing metaverse-related technologies and hiring personnel. This year alone, Meta has poured $9.4 billion (about 12.6 trillion KRW) into the metaverse.

Until last month, Zuckerberg remained optimistic, saying, "The metaverse is a collection of longer-term efforts we are researching," and "It will eventually pay off."

However, investors have raised doubts about Zuckerberg's strategy as Meta's core advertising business, including Facebook ads, has struggled this year, causing the stock price to fall to less than half.

According to attendees of the meeting, Zuckerberg evaluated that unlike Facebook or Instagram, which are the company's main revenue sources, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are still in the early stages of monetization.

On the same day, Meta piloted a business messenger service including payment functions in Brazil.

At the meeting, Zuckerberg assessed that the amount spent so far by the 'Reality Labs,' the organization responsible for metaverse investments, was relatively small.

He explained that the company spends the most on labor costs, followed by capital expenditures (facility investments), most of which were invested in infrastructure supporting social media apps. He said that 20% of the total budget was allocated to Reality Labs.

Reality Labs spent more than half of its budget on augmented reality (AR), and Zuckerberg said this would enable the development of AR glasses within the next few years, with excellent AR glasses expected to be released by the late 2020s.

The remaining 40% of the Reality Labs budget was spent on VR, and 10% on the futuristic VR social media platform 'Horizon.'

Zuckerberg said about AR glasses development, "In some ways, it is the most challenging task, but over time, it could potentially become the most valuable part."

Meanwhile, Meta recently laid off more than 11,000 employees, accounting for 13% of its total workforce. Additionally, in the third quarter, Meta's expenses increased by 19% year-on-year, while operating profit plummeted by 46%, raising concerns about performance and financial health.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.