Meta Investors Are in No Mood for Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Moonshot

Mark Zuckerberg is running low on believers in his vision of a virtual-reality future—at least among Meta shareholders. Some analysts say the company’s chief executive officer is pitching the wrong audience.

Meta Platforms Inc. is essentially running two operations: the social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram, which make all the money, and a massive project called Reality Labs that’s trying to build a digital world called the metaverse. While it’s not unusual for a technology company to invest heavily in a moonshot, Meta’s bet has become divisive at a moment when its social media revenue is slipping. “They are really taking on a massive science project—it’s essentially the Manhattan Project,” says Kamran Ansari, a venture partner at Greycroft Partners and early angel investor in Meta back when it was called Facebook.