Meta's Reality Labs chief is calling the 'most important' meeting of the year, urging employees to show up in person (www.businessinsider.com)

Meta's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, has announced an all-hands meeting for January 14, labeling it as the "most important" of the year. This push for in-person attendance marks a significant shift for Reality Labs, which oversees Meta's ventures into wearables and virtual/augmented reality, as employees are being urged to prioritize the meeting amid ongoing budget cuts and a strategic pivot toward AI. Meta's division has faced staggering losses exceeding $70 billion since 2020, and last year, the company shifted focus away from the metaverse, investing heavily in AI initiatives, including hiring top talent from competitors. The significance of this meeting lies in its context: Reality Labs has been under intense scrutiny, with repeated layoffs and budget cuts indicating broader implications for Meta’s future endeavors. Bosworth's framing of 2025 as a pivotal year for the division emphasizes the urgency of aligning their goals with the company’s shift to AI technologies. As Meta recalibrates its investments in response to the changing tech landscape, this meeting may serve as a critical moment for determining the fate of Reality Labs—potentially establishing whether its projects will be viewed as innovative breakthroughs or costly miscalculations.