Facebook invests 50M to responsibly build 'metaverse'

Social media giant Facebook has announced that it will invest $50 million to partner with the organisation to responsibly build the so-called metaverse.

The "metaverse" is a set of virtual spaces where one can create and explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space.

"We will work with experts in government, industry and academia to think through issues and opportunities in the metaverse. For instance, its success depends on building robust interoperability across services, so different companies' experiences can work together. We also need to involve the human rights and civil rights communities," the firm said in a statement.

The metaverse is not a single product one company can build alone. Just like the internet, the metaverse exists whether Facebook is there or not. And it won't be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realized in the next 10-15 years.

Facebook has invested heavily in virtual reality and augmented reality, developing hardware such as its Oculus VR headsets and working on AR glasses.

Earlier, Facebook in partnership with Ray-Ban, launched its first smart glasses named Ray-Ban Stories. The new glasses are a step in the direction of offering true augmented-reality spectacles.

The new glasses have been named "Ray-Ban Stories" and will start at $299 (around Rs 21,988), with polarised and transition lens options being made available at a higher price point.