Do you remember the Metaverse? Mark Zuckerberg remembers… Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, remembers too. Following its landmark $100 billion investment into XR, then in turn metaverse, solutions Bosworth revealed in a leaked memo that 2025 will be a standout year for the once headline and imagination-stealing technology as well as Reality Labs as a whole.
Metaverse solutions were much touted in years past. From meetings to socialisation, marketing groups pushed the Metaverse—i.e. shared virtual spaces and content—as the future, a future that may have become of interest due to the remote isolation of a COVID-peaked world.
However, audiences soon lost interest in the idea of the metaverse, with platforms like AltSapce closing down and Horizon news remaining quiet since the metaverse boom. This doesn’t mean virtual shared spaces and content disappeared; consumer-focused platforms like VRChat are still going strong – even appearing on Apple’s Vision Pro – and in education online, shared spaces on platforms like Engage are still holding ground for enterprise use cases.
But the metaverse died somewhat, in part due to technology; the concept boomed and was led by Meta while the Meta Quest 2 VR headset was championing the market. At the time, VRChat and others provided niche examples of the concept, but marketers seemed to believe the Metaverse and its enterprise use cases were ready for broader market appeal – not too dissimilar to how smartphone applications greatly broadened video game markets, reaching users who do not interact with gaming console/PCs.
Since then, however, the XR device market has matured slowly but greatly. Now, MR headsets are overtaking VR-dedicated devices. Monochrome passthrough was a minor feature on the Meta Quest 2; now, full-colour passthrough is the norm, as are emerging integrated technologies like tracking, XR streaming, and AI that could provide a framework for metaverse services. Moreover, AR smart glasses are on the rise, looking to be the next hot technology, further helping to boost that market.
With the XR device maturing, Meta seems to think that the Metaverse could have the hardware and software infrastructure to support its lost promises. This doesn’t just include consumer use cases; Meta is storied in its belief that the Metaverse will hold a strong place in the business world also.
What Did Boz Say?
As discovered by Bussiness Insider, Boz noted to Meta employees that 2025 will be “the most critical year in my 8 years at Reality Labs.”
“We need to drive sales, retention, and engagement across the board but especially in MR,” he added.
Speaking on the metaverse and Horizon Worlds, Boz explained that the service’s mobile application “absolutely has to break out for our long-term plans to have a chance. ” He also remarked that “if you don’t feel the weight of history on you, then you aren’t paying attention.”
Boz added:
This year likely determines whether this entire effort will go down as the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure.
These are passionate and strong statements from Boz, who may be feeling the pressure of the current XR space race between Samsung, Apple, Google, and others.
“On paper 2024 was our most successful year to date but we aren’t sitting around celebrating because know it isn’t enough,” noted Boz, who also in a revealing statement said that “we haven’t actually made a dent in the world yet.”
Seemingly speaking on the billions Meta has invested in XR, Boz reflected that “we live in an incredible time of technological achievement and have placed ourselves at the center of it with our investments. There is a very good chance most of us will never get a chance like this again.”
Boz also said:
You should be doing the best work of your career right now. You should be pushing yourself to grow where needed and doubling down on your strengths. When you look back on this time, I want you to feel like you did everything in your power to make the most of it.
“The path is clear,” Boz concluded, explaining that for “people in the organization”, all they need to do is “execute on the work laid out before them to succeed.”
He ended:
It is about operational excellence. It is about master craftsmanship. It is about filling our products with “Give A Damn”. This is about having pride in our work.
Speaking with Passion
Boz seems to be speaking with passion first. While no direct moves or goalposts are reflected in the memo, it is clear that Boz wants to push forward with clear leadership in XR, starting with the Quest MR headset and Horiozn metaverse platform.
Meta, as an umbrella corporation, has its hands in many pies, from AI to social media, and also XR-then it’s derivatives. There is a sentiment in his memo that Boz wants the Reality Labs team to be remembered as innovators who changed the world and who will continue to lead an XR revolution in decades to come.
But competition is fierce with new and veteran firms in the space, and the pressure cooker is boiling over. There have been lessons learnt from mistakes and successes with Meta Reality Labs; for example, its headsets have been the centre of industry-wide leadership via the Quest 2, and setbacks like the Quest Pro come as recent as last month; however, to Reality Labs’ credit, they act upon either side of the coin accordingly.
Connect is not coming up soon; it’ll most likely come in Q3. However, the event is a hotbed for innovation for Meta and its XR ambitions, and every year proves this. This year, more AR smart glasses news will likely hit the headlines following Connect, but based on Boz’s passionate memo, maybe new MR headset and metaverse innovations will also lead the way.
Meta Kicks the Next Immersive Space Race into Motion
Meta’s recent Q1 earnings report revealed that the company is significantly increasing its investments in immersive technology, with ongoing commitments to an ambitious $100 billion spending plan for its extended reality product portfolio, which includes augmented reality smart glasses, virtual reality headsets, mixed reality devices, and metaverse services.
During this period, Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the success of the Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses, which feature AR-lite capabilities. These glasses appear to serve as a testing ground for emerging features in AR smart glasses, such as translation visualizations.
Zuckerberg noted that smart glasses are “the perfect form factor for AI,” indicating Meta’s strategic vision for integrating artificial intelligence with XR technology—an area of ongoing interest for his company. He expressed his expectation that this year, a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant will reach over 1 billion users, with Meta AI positioned to be a leading contender in this space. The development of AR-ready smart glasses seems to be a significant step toward that future.
In addition to the $100 billion allocated for XR, Meta is also investing between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI infrastructure, emphasizing the high stakes for Zuckerberg and his company.
Meta is not yet done with the metaverse, Zuckberg said “This is also going to be a pivotal year for the metaverse,” he also added:
The number of people using Quest and Horizon has been steadily growing — and this is the year when a number of long-term investments that we’ve been working on that will make the metaverse more visually stunning and inspiring will really start to land. I think we’re going to know a lot more about Horizon’s trajectory by the end of this year.
In closing, Zuckerberg explained that Meta is accelerating its efforts towards building “some awesome things that shape the future of human connection. As always, I’m grateful for everyone who is on this journey with us.”
Read the full article here