To understand how Meta Platforms is losing billions of dollars a year building the metaverse, consider this: Apple has about 3,000 employees working on its mixed reality headset, which is expected to launch next year, according to two people familiar with the matter. the topic. Meta, by contrast, has more than five times as many people working on multiple virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, and associated software.

They include about 2,400 people working on a research team led by the division’s chief scientist, Michael Abrash, according to a person familiar with the situation. Another 1,900 people are working on content like virtual reality social network Horizon Worlds, reporting to Vishal Shah, head of the metaverse team, according to internal company data seen by…