Meta, headed by Mark Zuckerberg, plans to spend $135 billion on the metaverse in 2023 alone, despite massive criticism.

Meta Platforms is sticking to its strategy into 2023 as well, investing in its metaverse division Reality Labs with an amount equivalent to 20% of the company’s total expenses.

This is despite the massive skepticism surrounding Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to focus on the metaverse.

CTO of Reality Labs, Andrew Bosworth, wrote in a blog post that the company plans to spend roughly the same amount of money on the metaverse division next year as it has done this year. This is despite an operating loss of $9.4 billion during the first nine months of 2022.

A lot of money to spend on something that will only take off in several years

In a research note, Radio Free Mobile’s Dr Richard Windsor writes that he recently estimated that Meta’s spending for 2023 will land around $97.3 billion, giving an investment in the Metaverse of around $19.2 billion.

“That’s a large amount to spend on a technology that may take off by the end of the decade, which leads me to believe that this is also an insurance policy,” Windsor wrote, adding that the measure will likely “hit earnings hard in 2023.”

Reality Labs reported losses of $3.7 billion in Q3, $1.1 billion more than a year earlier, in a quarter in which Meta invested 18% in the metaverse division.

“Economic challenges around the world, combined with pressure on Meta’s core business, have created a perfect storm of skepticism about the investments we make,” Bosworth wrote.

Investors have lost confidence in Zuckerberg’s vision

About 80% of the company’s investments will go to Meta’s “family apps”, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. The apps landed around $32 billion in profits during the same period.

Zuckerberg announced in 2021 that Facebook had changed its name to Meta Platforms, but a large number of shareholders have announced this year that they have lost confidence in the decision to put the most focus and resources on products and services related to the metaverse.

Zuckerberg announced in November that the company is cutting its global workforce by about 13%. This corresponds to more than 11,000 jobs.