Meta's Metaverse Bet Costs $4 Billion Per Quarter, Pivots to AI Arms Race

Meta has lost an astounding $83.5 billion on Reality Labs since 2021—an average of $4 billion per quarter—revealing the extreme financial risks of speculative moonshot bets. Now pulling back from its metaverse ambitions, the company is redirecting resources toward AI infrastructure with a projected 2026 capex of $125-145 billion to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. This strategic pivot underscores both the volatility of long-term tech investments and the escalating costs required to maintain AI leadership in an increasingly competitive landscape.