Mark Zuckerberg Says Facebook Parent's Metaverse Ambitions Far From Over Amid AI Buzz: 'We've Been Focusing On Both...'

Meta Platforms Inc META CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the company's first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that the company is focusing on both the Metaverse and artificial intelligence.

What Happened: "A narrative has developed that we're somehow moving away from focusing on the metaverse vision, so I just want to say up front that that's not accurate. We've been focusing on both AI and the metaverse for years now, and we will continue to focus on both," said Zuckerberg.

The Meta CEO said that the two technologies were connected. Metaverse technologies will also help deliver AI," said Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg gave the example of AI agents that will take the advantage of "deep investment" the company has made in avatars over the last few years.

"Building the metaverse is a long-term project but the rationale for it remains the same and we remain committed to it."

Zuckerberg pointed to the fact that over one billion Meta avatars have been created and the number of titles in the Quest store with more than $25 million in revenue has doubled since 2022.

Why It Matters: Zuckerberg addressed the company's "AI work" during the earnings release on Wednesday, which he said was "driving good results across our apps and business."

"We’re also becoming more efficient, so we can build better products faster and put ourselves in a stronger position to deliver our long term vision," said the top Meta executive.

Even so, Meta said it expected its Reality Labs operating losses to increase year-over-year in 2023. Reality Labs is the company's business and research unit that produces virtual reality and augmented reality hardware and software.

Meta noted that for the three months that ended March 31, 2023, Reality Labs lost almost $4 billion, while in a similar period in 2022, it had lost $2.96 billion.

On Wednesday, Meta reported earnings per share of $2.20, which beat Street estimates of $2.03, according to Benzinga data.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Meta Platforms shares rose 11.7% to $233.85 in the after-hours trading after closing nearly 0.9% higher at $209.40 in the regular trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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