Tech Giants Navigate AI, VR, and Production Shifts
Several major technology companies, including Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, and Deezer, made significant announcements this week, impacting the landscape of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and electric vehicle production.
Meta's virtual reality division, Reality Labs, reported substantial losses, while the company simultaneously teased advancements in AI-driven commerce. According to Meta's earnings report released Wednesday, Reality Labs lost $19.1 billion in 2025, slightly more than the $17.7 billion lost in 2024. The fourth quarter alone saw a loss of $6.2 billion against sales of $955 million, contributing to a total of $2.2 billion in sales throughout 2025. Despite these losses, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg struck an optimistic tone during the company's earnings call, stating that users will begin to see new AI models and products from Meta in the coming months. "In 2025, we rebuilt the foundations of our AI program," Zuckerberg said, referring to the company's restructured AI lab. He highlighted AI-driven commerce as a key area of focus, envisioning "new agentic shopping tools" that will allow users to find products from businesses within Meta's catalog.
Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, reported a significant financial gain from its investment. The company's latest quarterly earnings, released Wednesday, revealed a $7.6 billion increase in net income attributed to its investment in OpenAI. Microsoft reportedly has a 20% revenue share agreement with OpenAI. The software giant has invested over $13 billion in the AI lab, which is reportedly seeking additional funding at a valuation between $750 billion and $830 billion, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft and OpenAI renegotiated some of the terms of their deal in September when OpenAI restructured.
In the realm of music streaming, Deezer announced it is making its AI detection tool available to other platforms. The tool, which automatically tags fully AI-generated music and removes it from algorithmic and editorial recommendations, aims to combat the rise of AI and fraudulent streams, promote transparency, and ensure recognition for human artists. Deezer reported that 85% of streams from fully AI-generated tracks are deemed fraudulent. The service now receives 60,000 AI tracks per day, totaling 13.4 million AI-detected songs. Last June, fully AI-generated music made up 18% of daily uploads, surpassing 20,000 tracks.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the end of production for the Model S sedan and Model X SUV during the company's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. The company will produce the final versions of both electric vehicles next quarter, while continuing to offer support for existing owners. "It's time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge, because we're really moving into a future that is based on autonomy," Musk said. Once production ends at the Fremont, California factory, Tesla plans to use the space to build Optimus robots.
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