In a recent Instagram post, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed a major pivot from the Metaverse to artificial intelligence, with plans to invest substantially in building a formidable compute infrastructure. The focal point of this ambitious move is the acquisition of a staggering 350,000 Nvidia AI chips, each priced at approximately $30,000, potentially totaling an eye-watering $10.5 billion.
Not stopping there, Zuckerberg is eyeing an additional purchase of "almost 600k H100 equivalents," a significant leap given Nvidia's projected sales of just 550,000 chips last year. This bold initiative aims to propel Meta into the realm of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a term embraced by tech elites to envision a future where AI reaches human-level intelligence.
Zuckerberg's long-term vision, as outlined in the video and caption, extends beyond ChatGPT-like systems. He aims to responsibly open-source AGI, making it widely accessible for the benefit of all. This contrasts with OpenAI's approach, which emphasizes benefiting humanity without explicit mention of open-sourcing.
Despite the focus on AI, Zuckerberg isn't abandoning the Metaverse entirely. He hinted at the development of AI-enhanced virtual reality glasses, emphasizing their potential to provide an ideal form factor for AI to comprehend visual data.
Having faced a $46.5 billion loss in the Metaverse, Zuckerberg's strategic pivot underscores a determined effort to lead in the AI landscape. Investors are cautiously optimistic, hoping these bold moves will prove more successful than the previous Metaverse venture.