Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is set to update investors on his plan to build the immersive metaverse during the two-day Meta Connect conference which launched Wednesday, 27th September.
The 2023 Meta Connect conference is the company’s first physical conference since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Zukerberg intends to delve more into the creation of the metaverse, which he has maintained is the future of computing.
Meta Connect, which is the organisation’s biggest event of the year, will also show how Zuckerberg plans to convince investors to shift from augmented and virtual reality (VR) technologies, to artificial intelligence.
Stakes for the event are high since investors criticised the Facebook and Instagram parent company for spending extensively on the metaverse in 2022. This led to Zuckerberg laying off tens of thousands of staff to continue funding his vision.
Developers will be watching to assess what apps they might create for Meta’s latest hardware devices, including the new Quest 3 VR headset which starts at $499, and is expected to release in the fourth quarter of 2023. Investors, meanwhile, will be seeking to know whether the gamble that has lost Meta over $40 billion since 2021 would finally pay off.
Top priority for the day includes the showcasing of AI-powered virtual assistants with distinctive personalities that Meta intends to embed inside its apps, according to two sources. The Wall Street Journal initially reported the plan to announce generative AI chatbots at Connect.
Just before the event, Meta revealed it was delivering on a plan announced early last year to roll out mobile and web versions of its flagship social VR platform Horizon Worlds.
