With the layoffs at Meta this week, it’s time to review metaverse strategies. Meta was increasingly bullish about the timelines, as were many analysts. But where do we stand now?
Some background
a) Meta cut 11,000 jobs (13 percent of the workforce)
b) The Reality Labs metaverse division lost over $3.6 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
c) The market is likely to be more stringent towards companies and initiatives that do not make a profit
d) however, the unique nature of meta shareholdings means that Mark Zuckerberg still drives the agenda even if shareholders are not happy
e) Hence we see that Reality labs is affected less than others.
Analysis
a) Meta has a “long-term vision for the metaverse.” – considering the above, what could it be?
b) If we break down the components of the metaverse, they are AR/VR, devices, presence, payments (including NFT), and a platform that brings it all together (in the case of Facebook – the horizon platform)
c) There we also other motivations, like work from home – in the current climate – which are being progressively reversed
d) Facebook/Meta’s primary motivation was the drop in advertising revenue. That was always a defensive reason to try and build the metaverse
e) Others can put together the metaverse functionality. Indeed that’s already happening with Microsoft and Nvidia
f) The less said about NFT/Crypto, the better!
However, we know that Meta is committed to ‘immersive experiences
In this sense, considering the long-term vision for the metaverse’ – For which areas will people pay for immersive experiences?
Education and Games are the two most logical areas
These are more traditional and also profitable
In this sense, metaverse 2.0 could be less radical and more functional yet immersive
And that can be a good thing
It may not even be from the company Meta
and even if it is, it may not solve Meta’s problems (ex will not compensate for the income lost from traditional advertising)
Of the two areas, I am personally more familiar with education.
So, to conclude, while we may yet see considerable uncertainty in the near future, Metaverse will be deployed and valuable – not just in the way initially envisaged by Meta
