{"id":17687,"date":"2024-11-04T11:32:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T11:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=17687"},"modified":"2024-11-04T11:32:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T11:32:18","slug":"alibaba-scales-down-metaverse-operations-lays-off-dozens-of-employees-as-hype-cools-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=17687","title":{"rendered":"Alibaba Scales Down Metaverse Operations, Lays Off Dozens Of Employees As Hype Cools Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alibaba Group Holding has scaled back its ambitions in the metaverse, laying off dozens of employees in a strategic shift within its Yuanjing division. South China Morning Post <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> the lay offs, citing sources familiar with the restructuring. <\/span><\/p>\n

The move positions Alibaba among other major tech firms that are reducing investments in the metaverse, as attention shifts toward artificial intelligence (AI).<\/span><\/p>\n

The layoffs affected Yuanjing\u2019s offices in Shanghai and Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is headquartered. Originally launched in 2021, Yuanjing was Alibaba\u2019s dedicated metaverse unit, designed to explore virtual worlds with substantial backing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alibaba\u2019s Metaverse Division Had Hundreds Of Employees<\/span><\/h2>\n

At its peak, Alibaba\u2019s metaverse division employed several hundred people, focusing on metaverse applications, tools, and customer services. However, as part of an \u201coptimization\u201d initiative, the company has re-evaluated and scaled down its metaverse commitment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese companies, particularly tech giants, often refer to workforce reductions as \u201cbusiness optimization\u201d to deflect potential criticism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Alibaba\u2019s case, no official statement has been released to confirm the exact nature of the restructuring or <\/span>future<\/span> plans for the Yuanjing unit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yuanjing\u2019s creation in 2021 was part of a broader trend across Chinese tech, where companies like Tencent, ByteDance, <\/span>and Kuaishou, along with<\/span> automotive manufacturer Li Auto, scrambled to secure metaverse-related trademarks with China\u2019s National Intellectual Property Administration. <\/span><\/p>\n

At that time, the metaverse was heralded as the internet\u2019s next frontier, an immersive digital realm that captured the imagination of investors and tech leaders worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

ALIBABA CUTS METAVERSE TEAM AS AI TAKES CENTER STAGE<\/p>\n

Looks like the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is trimming its metaverse squad, letting go of dozens to focus more on AI\u2014classic move, right?<\/p>\n

Their Yuanjing unit, which popped up in 2021 when the metaverse was the next big\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/76JUtZzjkh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IBC Group Official (@ibcgroupio) November 4, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In addition to Yuanjing, Alibaba previously invested in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) projects as avenues into the metaverse. <\/span><\/p>\n

Notably, Alibaba led a $60 million investment in Nreal, a Chinese AR glasses manufacturer. <\/span><\/p>\n

AR and VR technologies have been viewed as fundamental to accessing metaverse platforms, promising applications that span gaming to industrial operations. Yuanjing <\/span>itself<\/span> developed a cloud-based system to support metaverse use in video gaming and other applications.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Companies Flip To AI<\/span><\/h2>\n

However, Alibaba\u2019s recent downscaling reflects a global recalibration within the tech industry. Companies that once led the charge into the metaverse are diverting resources to AI, <\/span>which is being<\/span> hailed as the next revolutionary technology. <\/span><\/p>\n

Other major players, including Meta (formerly Facebook) and Baidu, have also curtailed their metaverse investments. <\/span><\/p>\n

Last October, Meta reportedly laid off staff within its Reality Labs division, which focused on metaverse-related chip development. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, Baidu saw a major shift in focus to AI following the release of OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT, with Baidu\u2019s <\/span>own<\/span> metaverse lead, Ma Jie, departing from the company in May 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite waning corporate enthusiasm, local governments in China continue to support metaverse-related projects. Zhejiang province, for example, announced a plan in December 2022 to cultivate a metaverse industry valued at 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) by 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Alibaba\u2019s pivot suggests that tech giants may find more immediate potential in AI advancements rather than <\/span>in<\/span> developing expansive virtual worlds.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The post Alibaba Scales Down Metaverse Operations, Lays Off Dozens Of Employees As Hype Cools Down<\/a> appeared first on <\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alibaba Group Holding has scaled back its ambitions in the metaverse, laying off dozens of employees in a strategic shift within its Yuanjing division. South China Morning Post reported the lay offs, citing sources familiar with the restructuring. The move positions Alibaba among other major tech firms that are reducing investments in the metaverse, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17687"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}