- Meta says that by 2035, the metaverse could generate an additional $760 billion for US GDP
- The study cited by the company also mentions forecasts for Europe: between 259 billion euros and 489 billion euros could be added to GDP
- In April, Mark Zuckerberg denied rumors that Meta is walking away from his metaverse project
2022 was a bad year for Facebook (now Meta), whose stock market share fell sharply. Mark Zuckerberg’s company is still facing competition from TikTok, its revenues are threatened by the changes made to iOS by Apple (on advertising targeting) and the economic context is also affecting the world of online advertising. But beyond that, the company’s expenses to develop the metaverse and its AR/VR products are regularly singled out.
Indeed, while this activity still does not generate profits, the company continues to invest several billion dollars. However, the group is convinced that in the long term, these investments will bear fruit. And in a recent publication, it publishes forecasts highlighting the economic potential of the metaverse.
“Although the metaverse is still in the early stages of development, it is already possible to see its potential in areas such as education, games, wellness and commerce”, reads the Meta post. According to it, the metaverse and its development would add between $402 billion and $760 billion to the annual gross domestic product of the United States by 2025. This data comes from a series of studies commissioned by the group, and carried out by Deloitte.
These data also indicate that in Europe, by 2035, the metaverse could add between €259 billion and €489 billion to the region’s GDP. Meta also evokes a strong adoption of technology on the European continent, citing uses in e-commerce, in the food industry, or in the automotive sector.
Meta justifies itself
While Meta has just published good results for the first quarter of 2023 (compared to those of 2022), this one seems to want to insist on the fact that the group’s investments in its metaverse and AR/VR division are entirely rational. And contrary to what some had thought, the group is not abandoning its ambitions in this area.
While ChatGPT continues to make the buzz, Meta has also embarked on the race for artificial intelligence. And some thought that the group gradually lost interest in the metaverse to focus on AI. But this was denied by Mark Zuckerberg during the presentation of quarterly results in April.
“A narrative has developed that we’re sort of moving away from focusing on the metaverse vision, so I just want to say up front that’s not accurate”said the CEO of Meta. “We have been focused on AI and the metaverse, and we will continue to do so.” Moreover, these two fields are rather complementary.
Indeed, according to Zuckerberg, his future augmented reality glasses use an operating system centered on artificial intelligence. In addition, generative AIs could well boost this Meta activity. Indeed, thanks to new tools similar to ChatGPT, it will be possible to generate 3D content for AR/VR devices more easily.
Note that while Meta is supposed to tighten its belt, the Metaverse division still lost nearly $4 billion during the first quarter.
