Meta's CTO on VR Layoffs, Glasses, and the Next AI Model

The conversation opened with Meta’s CTO recalling his 2025 internal memo that framed the year as a make‑or‑break moment for Reality Labs. He admitted the AI breakthrough anticipated for 2025 fell short, pushing the company’s focus into 2026. While internal restructuring is reshaping how teams work, the broader narrative remains: Meta is still betting on immersive technology, but the timeline for a decisive AI‑driven shift has been pushed back. This delay also influences Meta’s broader AI roadmap, prompting tighter cross‑team collaboration. Central to the shift is Horizon, which is being re‑engineered from a VR‑first operating system to a mobile‑first platform. The team discovered that building the same experience twice—once for phones and once for headsets—was inefficient. By leveraging Horizon’s existing product‑market fit on smartphones, Meta can accelerate feature delivery, reduce thermal and boot‑time constraints, and concentrate on core immersive content such as gaming, fitness, and mixed‑reality productivity. The new strategy also elevates the third‑party app store, making it the primary growth engine for the ecosystem. By decoupling the OS layer, developers gain faster iteration cycles and lower entry barriers. Despite a recent round of Reality Labs layoffs, the CTO emphasized that Meta remains the largest investor in VR. Sales and engagement metrics have met internal targets, even though consumer adoption has not reached the billion‑user horizon once forecasted. Two unrevealed devices are slated for release later this year, underscoring continued commitment. The right‑sizing of resources aims to align spending with realistic market growth while preserving a robust content pipeline. Analysts view the move as a pragmatic recalibration rather than an abandonment of the immersive vision. Investors are watching the upcoming hardware launches closely, expecting them to validate the revised strategy.