Meta Platforms(US:META) 机器之心·2025-12-12 03:41Core Viewpoint - Meta is shifting its strategic focus from the "metaverse" to artificial intelligence (AI), facing multiple internal challenges as a result [1]. Group 1: Internal Conflicts - A newly formed top AI team at Meta is experiencing friction with existing core business departments over resource allocation, development goals, and cultural integration [2]. - Internal conflicts have escalated due to differences in priorities regarding AI development, with long-term executives advocating for using data from Instagram and Facebook to enhance social media and advertising, while the new AI team led by Alexandr Wang aims to develop advanced AI models without immediate product application focus [5][12]. - The AI team believes that the existing executive focus on social media improvements is hindering the development of cutting-edge AI models [5]. Group 2: Resource Allocation and Financials - To support its ambitious AI goals, Meta is reallocating resources, significantly cutting the budget for Reality Labs, which oversees VR, AR, and metaverse initiatives [8]. - Reality Labs has incurred losses exceeding $70 billion since the end of 2020, and Meta plans to reduce its budget by up to 30% (approximately $4 billion to $6 billion) next year, with funds redirected to the AI team [11]. - Meta's projected spending in AI for this year is estimated to be between $66 billion and $72 billion, nearly equivalent to the total losses from its metaverse business in recent years [11]. Group 3: Strategic Challenges - Meta's current situation mirrors historical challenges faced by tech giants, such as Microsoft's failure to adapt to mobile operating systems, which resulted in a loss of market dominance [17]. - The company is simultaneously engaged in multiple costly battles across the metaverse, short video markets, and AI, leading to a dilution of strategic focus [19]. - The failure of Llama 4 has raised concerns about whether resource allocation towards the metaverse has impeded the AI team's progress at a critical time [19]. Group 4: Cultural and Organizational Dynamics - Tensions within Meta are ongoing due to differing philosophies between established executives and the new AI elite, with some employees prioritizing resources for the profitable social media business [12]. - The departure of Yann LeCun over ideological differences highlights the intense cultural shifts within the organization as it navigates its new direction [21]. - The outcome of Meta's internal struggles will determine whether it faces a collapse similar to Google+ or can reorganize effectively to achieve success akin to Google's Gemini project [22].