The company has faced challenges in producing competitive chips internally and has turned to Qualcomm for manufacturing. A restructuring of the FAST division was anticipated earlier this year when a new executive was appointed to lead the unit. Meta currently produces mixed reality headsets and smart glasses, and is also working on advanced AR glasses and associated smartwatches, expected to be completed next year.
Key takeaways:
- Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp and Instagram, is preparing to lay off employees in its Reality Labs division, which is responsible for creating custom chipsets.
- The layoffs may impact CEO Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious project to create augmented and virtual reality products for the "metaverse," including the development of AR glasses.
- The company has faced challenges in producing competitive chips internally and has turned to chipmaker Qualcomm for its existing devices. A restructuring of the Facebook Agile Silicon Team (FAST) division, which focuses on designing these custom chips, had been anticipated.
- Meta is currently producing mixed reality headsets and smart glasses, and is also working on technologically advanced AR glasses and associated smartwatches, with the first version expected to be completed next year.