American billionaire Peter Thiel left Meta's board of directors shortly after criticizing the company's obsession with the metaverse
Criticism of Meta*'s plans (recognized by the Russian authorities as extremist and banned in the country) regarding the metaverse cost American billionaire Peter Thiel his seat on the board of directors. Reuters writes about this, citing sources close to the company.
At one board meeting, Thiel reportedly bluntly told Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg that the company was not spending enough time on the social network but was focusing too much on the metaverse. This prioritization leaves Meta vulnerable to rising rival TikTok, the people said, recalling details of the negotiations.
Peter Thiel left Meta's board of directors in February 2022. The exact reason for his departure is still unknown. According to media reports, Thiel wanted to focus on promoting his conservative political agenda ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. It is unclear whether the billionaire's political ambitions have been realized.
This is not the first time that Meta has been called upon to come to its senses and focus on its core business. In October 2022, the owner of 0.1% of META shares, the hedge fund Altimeter Capital Management, called on Zuckerberg to reduce the company's staff and cut costs on developing the metaverse. According to Altimeter CEO Brad Gerstner, Meta's significant investments in "the unknown future are supersized and terrifying even by Silicon Valley standards." Let us remind you that at the end of 2022, Meta spent almost $14 billion on the development of virtual reality.
At the same time, Meta's efforts in a new direction are clearly not enough. Journalists from The Verge tried out the Quest Pro 2 virtual helmet and destroyed the Horizon Worlds metaverse. According to them, the helmet does not always correctly track the position of the eyes, its charge only lasts for two hours, and the technical part of the metaverse is still raw. At the same time, the cost of Quest Pro in the US starts at $1,499.