While acknowledging that 2022 was “tougher than we expected” for its metaverse plans, Meta remains committed to the technology, Reality Labs CTO Andrew Bosworth wrote in a blog post. To that end, the company plans to allocate 20 percent of its total spending to Reality Labs in 2023, with half of that going directly to augmented reality (AR) initiatives, about the same amount as last year.

Meta was criticized this year for investing billions in metaverse projects and seeing a $9.4 billion loss from Reality Labs through the first three quarters of 2022. “Economic challenges around the world, combined with pressures on the business head of Meta, created a perfect storm of skepticism about the investments we’re making,” Bosworth acknowledged.

However, reversing course now…