Bleeding Reality Labs grows, Zuckerberg promises ‘pivotal year’ for the metaverse.

Reality Labs, the research arm of social media giant Meta Platforms, continued to experience significant losses in the last quarter, but Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is optimistic about the potential of the metaverse in 2025.

According to Meta’s fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2024, disclosed on Jan. 29, Reality Labs reported operating losses of $4.97 billion in Q4, while generating just over $1 billion in revenue.

For the full year 2024, revenue increased by 13% year-on-year to $2.15 billion, but operating losses also rose by 10% to $17.73 billion. Since 2020, Reality Labs has accumulated over $60 billion in losses.

During an earnings call with investors, Zuckerberg emphasized that 2025 would be crucial for the metaverse, noting a steady growth in users for augmented reality hardware and the metaverse.

Zuckerberg mentioned that long-term investments to enhance the visual appeal and creativity of the metaverse would start to materialize this year.

Reality Labs is Meta’s division dedicated to developing virtual and augmented reality technology, such as Quest VR headsets and Horizon metaverse, while also playing a role in the company’s artificial intelligence initiatives.

Refer to Yahoo Finance for Reality Labs’ losses since 2022.

In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg highlighted that 2025 would be significant for AI, with Meta planning to invest billions in AI strategy, including constructing a massive data center.

He also mentioned the expansion of agentic AI reach to over a billion people this year, with Meta AI leading the way.

Zuckerberg commended the Trump administration for prioritizing American technology and defending national interests abroad.

Meta’s revenues for Q4 2024 grew by 21% to $48.4 billion compared to the same quarter a year ago, exceeding analyst expectations, primarily driven by advertising.

Full-year 2024 revenues increased by 22% to $164.5 billion.

Investors responded positively, with Meta’s stock rising 5% during the earnings call, reaching $692 after hours trading and up more than 15% year-to-date.

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