Meta's VR Division Lost Billions as Zuckerberg Teases AI Rollout; Portugal Builds Drone Carrier; Storms Flood Ireland; Deezer Fights AI Music
Meta's virtual reality division, Reality Labs, reported a loss of $19.1 billion in 2025, slightly more than the $17.7 billion lost in 2024, according to the company's earnings report released Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta users will begin to see new AI models and products in the coming months, with a focus on AI-driven commerce. In other news, Portugal is constructing Europe's first dedicated drone carrier, and severe flooding impacted parts of Ireland following Storm Chandra. Deezer is also making its AI detection tool available to other streaming platforms.
Reality Labs generated $2.2 billion in sales throughout 2025, including $955 million in the fourth quarter, but those figures were overshadowed by the massive losses. Earlier in January, Meta laid off 10% of Reality Labs staff, reportedly cutting as many as 1,000 employees, TechCrunch reported. Despite the losses, Zuckerberg struck an optimistic tone regarding Meta's VR efforts during the company's earnings call.
Zuckerberg also highlighted AI-driven commerce as a key area of focus for Meta. "New agentic shopping tools will allow people to find just the right set of products from the businesses in our catalog," he said on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch. He added that Meta rebuilt the foundations of its AI program in 2025 and expects to "steadily push the frontier over the course of the new year."
In Europe, Portugal is constructing the NRP D. João II, a 107.6-meter drone carrier designed to operate unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater systems. Built by Dutch company Damen in Romania's Galati, the vessel cost 132 million, largely funded by EU recovery funds, Euronews reported. The drone carrier is scheduled for delivery in the second half of this year and is intended to offer high flexibility and lower costs compared to traditional aircraft carriers, with the ability to switch mission profiles within a week.
Meanwhile, severe flooding struck parts of Ireland after rivers burst their banks following heavy rain from Storm Chandra. The town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford was particularly affected after the River Slaney overflowed, Euronews reported. Dublin Fire Brigade responded to multiple flooding and water rescue incidents. In Aughrim, south of Dublin, floodwaters destroyed several structures.
In the music industry, Deezer is combating the rise of AI-generated music by making its AI detection tool available to other streaming platforms. The tool, which automatically tags fully AI-generated music and removes it from algorithmic and editorial recommendations, aims to promote transparency and ensure human artists receive recognition. 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, according to TechCrunch.
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