Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms, is redirecting his company’s focus towards AI after the metaverse venture faced several setbacks, Bloomberg is reporting.
The decision comes as Meta’s foray into the metaverse has proven to be a financial failure, losing approximately $50 billion. The metaverse, once considered the future, now appears to be a misstep.
Originally enthusiastic about the metaverse concept, Zuckerberg renamed the company to Meta Platforms in 2021 and committed to revolutionizing online interactions. However, the metaverse initiative struggled to gain traction, raising doubts about its viability for regular users.
In the wake of these challenges, Zuckerberg has shifted his attention to AI, marking it as Meta’s top priority. Acknowledging the potential of AI, Zuckerberg sought information on the latest developments from Meta’s AI research group, FAIR (Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research).
Meta’s interest in AI initially centered around supporting the metaverse vision. However, after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, the company shifted its focus to generative AI, a move that gained industry recognition.
To boost public engagement, Meta released AI features in 2023, including animated images based on text prompts and AI chatbots with celebrity avatars. The open-sourcing of Llama, Meta’s AI software, has garnered positive attention, contributing to the company’s stock performance in 2023.
As Zuckerberg emphasizes AI, Meta’s stock experienced a significant surge, nearly tripling in value in 2023. Zuckerberg now plans to continue deprioritizing non-AI projects, focusing on transforming Meta into an AI powerhouse.
Despite the challenges Meta faces, if Zuckerberg maintains his focus on AI development, the company could undergo a successful transformation.
