Almost a year ago Mark Zuckerberg announced the birth of Meta, a technology and social networking conglomerate that included the company’s flagship (so far): Facebook. But the latest creature of the businessman goes much further. The company is developing new technologies “to help people connect, find communities and grow their businesses.” All this, from the metaverse.
Among other things, the metaverse will allow those who are geographically separated to enjoy realistic and spatially aware experiences. The goal is for the physical world of the user and the virtual world to merge and become one. In this way, for example, we can take a walk with a friend who is thousands of kilometers away in the city of our choice. That is, we can change the physical world for one created by the computer.
There is already a date for Meta Connect, the great event on the metaverse: it will be October 11
The metaverse is expensive for Zuckerberg
The possibility of feeling a digital object by touch was a pending issue for the metaverse. Zuckerberg’s company has developed a haptic glove, which he has been working on for seven years, that generates a very precise sensation of touch. This Meta accessory, together with the Oculs Quest 2 device, takes the virtual experience to another level.
The possibility of feeling a digital object by touch was a pending issue for the metaverse.
The turn to virtual reality is costing Zuckerberg. According to Bloomberg, his fortune has more than halved, down $71 billion so far this year. At $55.9 billion (he had more than $125 billion at the beginning of the year), his net worth ranks 20th among global billionaires. He has not been seen in that position since 2014. And he has seen a lot since then.
Two years ago, the Meta founder’s fortune was worth $106 billion and he was among an elite group of global billionaires. He was only surpassed by Jeff Bezos, promoter of Amazon, and Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft. In September 2021, he peaked, when his wealth increased to a maximum of 142 billion dollars.
Just a month later, in October 2021, Zuckerberg introduced Meta. And that’s where his economic decline began. It should not be forgotten that the businessman is tied to this new project, because he owns more than 350 million shares, according to the company’s latest proxy statement.
In February, the company reported no growth in monthly Facebook users, triggering a historic collapse in its share price. According to Bloomberg, on those dates, he lost about 31 billion dollars. The problem is not only the commitment to the metaverse, but the struggle it maintains with other social networks such as TikTok.
How will the metaverse work?
The metaverse is simmering and it does not seem that Zuckerberg’s company will have economic results in the short term. Virtual reality is expected to reach a billion people around the world, drive hundreds of billions of dollars in online commerce, and create millions of jobs for creators and developers.
Such a deployment requires a powerful infrastructure: video compression, edge computing, visibility between layers, preparation of future connectivity and mobile telephony standards, optimization of networks, improvement of latency between devices and within radio access networks. … And so, a long etcetera.
Salvador Dalí immersive exhibition at IDEAL
Between economic losses and the decline of Facebook, Meta is stepping on the accelerator. At least, in all that it can. It is already building several prototypes to fully understand and innovate in this complex interaction of virtual systems. But there is no date for its launch.