Meta CTO and Head Reality LabsAndrew Bosworth called a general meeting for January 14, calling it “the most important” of the year.
Bosworth also strongly encourages Reality Labs employees to attend the division's meeting in person, two Meta employees told Business Insider.
The emphasis on in-person visits is unusual for a division that oversees the company's wearables, virtual and augmented reality and nascent robotics division, these employees said. Some managers told employees to “stop what they were doing” and attend the meeting in person, one employee told Business Insider.
Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the meeting.
Although the division has achieved some successes such as Ray-Ban. smart glassesReality Labs has been a costly venture for Meta, posting losses of more than $70 billion since 2020.
Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shifted the company's strategic focus toward artificial intelligence rather than the metaverse. In 2025, Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and hired its own CEO Alexander Wangas part of a major reboot of the company's artificial intelligence efforts. Meta then launched a multibillion-dollar hiring campaign. poaching leading artificial intelligence researchers and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
Over the past year, Reality Labs has been subject to multiple layoffs. Business Insider reported in December that Meta planned budget cuts up to 30% and taking into account job cuts at Reality Labs.
Last April, Meta laid off employees in Oculus Studiosits own gaming division and the team behind Supernatural, VR fitness app Meta, acquired for more than $400 million. These cuts follow broader layoffs at Meta in January 2025, which eliminated nearly 4,000 positions across the company, with at least 560 affecting Reality Labs employees.
In a memo obtained by Business Insider earlier last year, Bosworth mentioned 2025. as the “most critical” year of his eight-year tenure at Reality Labs.
“This year will likely determine whether this entire effort remains the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure,” he wrote.
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