Speaking of AI…Meta is finally ditching the metaverse to go all-in on AI. The company reported it will be slashing its metaverse department budget by up to 30% and redirecting those funds toward AI glasses and wearables. After four years and billions spent, the virtual world Zuckerberg believed would be “the successor of the mobile internet” simply never caught on. Meta initially aimed for 500K monthly active users in its Horizon Worlds VR space, but quietly had to revise that goal by nearly half. The pitch was always risky: a $400 headset selling immersive digital hangouts to a post-COVID population desperate for real-life human connection was unlikely to go mainstream. And on top of the buy-in cost, the graphics looked, as one CNN writer put it, “shockingly mid.” With a 61% market share in AI glasses and wearables, Meta is now attempting to meet Gen Z where they actually are: in the real world, with smarter tools in hand. (CNN)\
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