Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is expected to meaningfully cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort that he once framed as the future of the company and the reason for changing its name from Facebook Inc.

Shares of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) climbed higher Thursday after the company announced job cuts. With shares trading higher, Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg also saw his wealth soar, potentially at the expense of some of his company's employees.

Meta cuts—and potential layoffs—could come as early as January 2026, and will see the company's virtual reality group significantly downsized.

OpenAI's research chief, Mark Chen, told author Ashlee Vance that the company is "always under attack" by rivals trying to poach its talent.

The Facebook parent’s shares rose 4% as the move eased some investor jitters over a bet that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has backed with billions of dollars, only for the business to burn more than $60 billion since 2020. The company even changed its name to Meta from Facebook in 2021 to signal its priorities.

Meta's metaverse was doomed from the very start. Is Mark Zuckerberg now putting virtual worlds out of their misery?

The installation, called Regular Animals and curated by artist Mike Winkelmann, "reinterpreted the legacy of pop portraiture, sculpture, and generative art through the lens of technology," according to Art Basel. The robot figures were also programmed to poop photographs portraying the worldviews of each character.

The wild show also included robots of famed artists Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol with faces crafted by famed mask-maker Landon Meier.

Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed soaring billionaire wealth as new Bank of America data shows many lower-income Americans still struggling with stagnant wages, persistent inflation and a widening economic divide.

Reports that Meta plans to slash its metaverse budget by as much as 30% have eased investor concerns around AI spending and ignited a rally