Chris Cox, Meta's chief product officer, stated that he believes the metaverse will become as vital as smartphones in the future.
During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he shared that Meta has been working for the past eight years on creating a virtual reality product line that is both affordable and accessible, while also being impressive enough for people to use in various aspects of their lives such as socializing, gaming, fitness, medicine, drug development and even designing cars and sneakers.
During the panel, Cox highlighted one of the current challenges facing the metaverse, which is the lack of compatibility between different platforms.
He compared the metaverse to the internet, pointing out that it is easy to switch between different apps such as Instagram and Google Maps without any confusion. However, this level of interoperability does not currently exist in the metaverse.
The panel discussion on the metaverse was led by Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson, and featured Neal Stephenson, the author and creator of the term metaverse; Enrique Lores, the CEO of HP; and Paula Ingabire, the Minister of ICT and Innovation in Rwanda.
Despite Meta losing $10 billion in 2021 and $9 billion in 2022 on Reality Lab, the division focused on building the metaverse, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed his continued commitment to the metaverse, and announced that spending on Reality Labs will increase in 2023, despite the company's recent layoffs.
According to Insider, some Meta employees have expressed dissatisfaction with the company's focus on the metaverse, with one director-level employee stating that "it's the only thing Mark wants to talk about." Some employees have reported feeling disorganized and anxious due to a lack of a clear strategy.
