A Rough Year

Meta Platforms (META) is having a rough year. The company’s stock price was cut by nearly half since January 1 as user growth has slowed. Longtime COO Sheryl Sandberg announced she will leave the company this fall.

Amid the current stumbles, CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions a pivot for the company that once focused solely on its social media platform, Facebook. Zuckerberg sees the metaverse as an important engine of growth that will support the company’s continued evolution.

Population: One Billion

The metaverse loosely refers to a digital world that incorporates augmented reality in order to connect the virtual world with real life.

Zuckerberg envisions a billion people congregating in the metaverse, which will offer consumers options to spend their money on all things, virtual and digital. The sector’s broader goal is to create a more immersive experience than what can be achieved through just text, photos or videos. To this end, Meta’s CEO plans to invest considerably in research to support his metaverse vision.

Concurrent Disdain and Enthusiasm

While some industry giants like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have expressed disdain for the non-tangible NFTs that feature prominently in the metaverse, others favor the idea. A recent McKinsey report projected metaverse revenues could reach upwards of $5 trillion by 2030.

Meta’s ambitions come amid a concurrent push by the company to build out its artificial intelligence. The goal is to boost advertising profits, which form the basis of its business model. Given the recent rout in the NFT market and a potential recession on the horizon, time will tell if Zuckerberg’s vision can ultimately become a reality.

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