Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, who leads the company’s Reality Labs division, acknowledged the emotional toll of recent layoffs and product cutbacks within the VR and metaverse space, calling the situation “a real cause for sadness.” Despite the challenges, he affirmed that Meta remains “extremely bullish” on virtual reality and continues to be a major force in the ecosystem. In a recent Instagram Live Q&A, Bosworth addressed concerns about the future of Meta’s Quest platform and VR gaming, saying the widespread pessimism was largely “overwrought.” Still, he admitted that the scale of the recent reductions—part of a broader restructuring of Reality Labs—was painful. “You have people doing work that we were excited about, that we wanted to have in the system,” he said, reflecting on the team members impacted by the cuts. Bosworth attributed the shift to the reality that the VR market has grown more slowly than anticipated. Since 2020, Reality Labs has accumulated over $70 billion in losses, a figure that, he noted, exceeds the pace of market growth. “The investment that we put in is bigger than the growth that this ecosystem will allow,” he said. “That’s a real loss. We are allowed to feel sad about those things.” As part of the reevaluation, Meta has pulled back on several initiatives, including its virtual workplace and fitness apps, focusing instead on core VR experiences and content development. However, Bosworth emphasized that the company remains a net positive investor in the VR space, spending more on content than any other player. He also clarified that Meta’s push into AI-powered wearables—such as its upcoming AI glasses—does not come at the expense of VR. “If VR were growing at the rate we all wish it were, we probably wouldn’t have made these changes, and wearables would still be growing a ton,” he said. “It is wrong to think of those things as zero-sum.” Bosworth reiterated that Meta’s dual focus on VR and wearables is sustainable and complementary. In December, he had predicted that 2025 would be a pivotal year for the metaverse, calling it a “make-or-break” moment that could define whether the effort is remembered as visionary or a costly misstep. Now, with the reality of slower growth and tough decisions, his tone has shifted. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to invest infinitely, forever,” he said. “We do need to have our investment match the size of growth.” The path forward, he suggested, will be more measured—but not abandoned.