Meta has spent $36 billion building the metaverse but still has little to show for it, while tech sensations such as the iPhone, Xbox, and Amazon Echo cost way less

Reality Labs houses the social-media giant’s VR and metaverse arms, and remains massively unprofitable, posting a $3.7 billion operating loss on revenue of $285 million in its most recent quarter, down by almost half compared with the previous year. 

The social media giant reported its second consecutive quarter of lower revenues this week, prompting some anxious investors to urge Meta to refocus on its more reliable core businesses — ads and paid messaging.

The Meta CEO said the company would lose a “significant amount” of money over a three to five-year period at this year’s shareholder meeting.

While Zuckerberg may believe hemorrhaging cash is the path to the metaverse’s success and profitability, Insider has put together this list of highly successful tech innovations that cost just a fraction of how much Meta has already spent. These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.