Meta is quietly preparing for the future of smartphones. Recent reports indicate that the company has been offering sky-high salaries to recruit top talent from its competitors, including a recent hire from Apple’s AI division. 
The tech giant has also been on a shopping spree, acquiring AI startups, with its latest acquisition being PlayAI, a company that specializes in creating lifelike voices for AI systems.
This surge in AI investment – a trend sweeping through the smartphone industry – makes perfect sense, especially considering Meta’s growing interest in Virtual Reality (VR). Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, believes that XR (Extended Reality) devices will be the next big thing in smartphones, and AI will play a crucial role in perfecting these devices.
Under Zuckerberg’s leadership, Meta has already invested billions in advancing the XR industry. One of its most significant contributions is the Meta Quest series, which emerged after Meta acquired Oculus in 2014. The Meta Quest 3 and other variants have impressed with their affordability, power, and extensive content library.
Despite not making much profit on its headsets, Meta has become a dominant player in the XR space. Its Ray-Ban smart glasses have also gained more popularity than expected, and Zuckerberg is determined to release a consumer version of the Orion smart glasses soon.
With these recent AI acquisitions, it’s clear that Meta’s ultimate goal is to develop a pair of true AR smart glasses. These glasses won’t just display the UI in front of the user, but will also interpret context and engage with users more intelligently than any previous AI-powered glasses. By acquiring startups like PlayAI, Meta is stacking up on the talent needed to bring this vision to life. While the race for AI-powered AR glasses is still in its early stages, Meta has its sights set on global dominance. Though Meta missed out on smartphones, it’s determined to take the lead in XR technology.
Meanwhile, Apple and Samsung are also vying for the same future. We’ve already seen the Apple Vision Pro, and there are now rumors about a lackluster Apple Vision Pro 2. On the other hand, Samsung is preparing to launch its own headset, Project Moohan.
So, will Meta’s aggressive approach to acquiring AI talent and startups give it the edge over Apple and Samsung? I believe it will.