Smart Glasses: Meta's VR and AR Investments Will Exceed $100 Billion This Year.

Meta plans to invest over $100 billion in virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) by the end of 2025

The American tech giant Meta plans to invest over $100 billion in the development of virtual and augmented reality by the end of 2025. CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls 2025 the year when Meta's smart glasses will take a defining role in the market.

In 2024, Meta has already invested $19.9 billion in its Reality Labs division, which is working on the development of the Quest VR headset and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Total investments in Reality Labs have exceeded $85 billion.

Despite significant financial losses, smart glasses remain a priority area for Mark Zuckerberg, who sees them as a potential replacement for smartphones.

Meta is working on creating smart glasses that combine digital content with the real world. In September 2024, a prototype code-named Orion was unveiled, which will compete with developments from Apple and Google.

The demand for smart glasses is growing: in 2024, Meta sold 1 million Ray-Ban Meta devices. A new version of the glasses with a built-in display and artificial intelligence features is planned to be released in 2025.

Despite high spending, the Reality Labs division is gradually increasing its revenues. In 2024, the division earned $2.1 billion, which is 13% more than the previous year, although operating losses amounted to $17.7 billion.

The Quest VR headsets, while an important product for Meta, have not yet gained wide popularity, with the total number of units sold estimated at 30 million.