The COO of Reality Labs is leaving Meta after nearly 11 years
Dan Reed, the chief operating officer of Meta's Reality Labs division, is stepping down after nearly 11 years at the company.
Reed's departure marks another leadership change at a time when the division faces mounting internal and external pressure.
Reed announced his exit Wednesday in a LinkedIn post, reflecting on his time building what he described as a "fast-growing, multibillion-dollar consumer technology business" spanning AI wearables, augmented and mixed reality, and the metaverse.
"I see SO much exciting opportunity in this space, to which I eventually intend to return to lead and grow something cool and exciting," Reed wrote. "In the meantime, I'm very excited after this 20+ year run to take an extended break and spend quality time with my wife and two boys, reconnect with friends and family, and recharge."
Reed, a former NBA executive, first joined Meta in 2014 to lead the company's partnerships with sports teams and athletes.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reed's departure follows Meta's major restructuring of Reality Labs earlier this year. Business Insider first reported in January that the company began integrating Reality Labs more closely with its core business. This shift reversed parts of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 2021 reorganization, which had positioned the group as a stand-alone, metaverse-focused division.
Under the new structure, sales, marketing, and analytics teams that once reported to Reed were redistributed under broader Meta leadership. Meta COO Javier Olivan now oversees the teams previously led by Reed, and other Reality Labs leaders have been aligned with top company executives, including chief marketing officer Alex Schultz and head of partnerships Justin Osofsky.
Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, credited Reed at the time for guiding the business group through a phase of rapid growth. An internal memo viewed by BI in January said that Reality Labs' sales rose over 40% year-over-year in 2024, and the division beat nearly all of its aggressive sales and user goals. Bosworth called Reed's leadership "a major part" of that success.
Despite those gains, Reality Labs remains a financial sinkhole for Meta. The division, which includes the Quest headsets, Horizon Worlds, and Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, has racked up more than $60 billion in losses since 2020.
Last month, Meta laid off staff across Reality Labs, including teams working on VR gaming and the Supernatural fitness app.
Internally, Bosworth has described 2025 as "the most critical" year for the division and said that Meta's ambitious metaverse bets could either validate years of investment or be remembered as a "legendary misadventure."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eminem's Publishing Company Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Meta
Eminem's publishing company Eight Mile Style has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta. The suit filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division and reviewed by Rolling Stone alleges that the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has distributed the rapper's music across its platforms without proper licensing permissions. 'Despite their not being licensed, the recordings of the Eight Mile Compositions have been reproduced and synchronized with visual content on Meta's platforms across millions of videos, which have been viewed billions of times,' the complaint claims. 'Meta's years-long and ongoing infringement of the Eight Mile Compositions is another case of a trillion (with a 'T') dollar company exploiting the creative efforts of musical artists for the obscene monetary benefit of its executives and shareholders without a license and without regard to the rights of the owners of the intellectual property.' More from Rolling Stone Eminem, Post Malone Make Cameos in Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore 2' Trailer Watch Eminem Join Jelly Roll for 'Lose Yourself' at Detroit Show Eminem Stalker Convicted After Second Home Invasion Eight Mile Style is the owner of 243 musical compositions, including 'Lose Yourself,' 'The Real Slim Shady,' 'Forgot About Dre,' and other notable releases from Eminem. The suit acknowledges that Meta 'has removed several of the Eight Mile Compositions from its Music Libraries in the preceding months,' including 'Lose Yourself,' but states that a karaoke version, a piano instrumental, and one regular cover version by a different artist are still available. 'This in addition to other prominent Eminem works which remain available on Meta's services,' the company's lawyers claim, citing 'Till I Collapse.' The suit alleges that Meta's 'rampant infringement' extends beyond allowing users to upload copyrighted audio to its platforms. 'This case involves Meta's knowing infringement of the Eight Mile Compositions by first reproducing and storing them in Meta's online Music Libraries, and then distributing them for users to select and incorporate into their own photos and videos made available for public streaming on the users' WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram accounts,' the complaint claims. The publishing company is seeking monetary damages 'including actual damages, damages for the diminished value of the copyrights by Defendants' theft of them, lost profits, and Defendants' profits attributable to the infringement.' Alternatively, the company is seeking 'maximum statutory damages for willful copyright infringement for each of Eight Mile Style's works,' which would amount to '$150,000 per work, times 243 works, times 3 platforms,' or $109,350,000. Eight Mile Style has also requested a permanent injunction to halt ongoing infringement. A rep for Meta did not immediately return Rolling Stone's request for comment. The legal filing comes less than a year after Eight Mile Style lost its copyright infringement lawsuit against Spotify after five years due to a legal loophole. In September, a Tennessee judge ruled that while Spotify did not have the proper streaming license, as the publisher claimed, any imposed penalties would have fallen on Kobalt Music Group, a royalty collection agency. In the suit, Eight Mile Style sought nearly $40 million, claiming to not have received payment for billions of Spotify streams. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wall Street analyst Dan Ives launches AI ETF to tap tech boom
Investing in the next generation of artificial intelligence winners is getting more comprehensive with the launch of a new exchange-traded fund based on 30 stock picks from one of Wall Street's top analysts. In what is likely the first of its kind, the IVES AI Revolution ETF mirrors the proprietary research of Dan Ives, the managing director and global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities. "In 25 years covering tech, I've never seen a bigger theme than the AI revolution," Ives told FOX Business. "And we've tried to capture in our research the 30 companies in tech that best encompass this fourth industrial revolution theme across semi-software, infrastructure and autonomous. And that is really the inception. The AI revolution ETF." Microsoft, Palantir, Meta, Tesla, Palo Alto and Nvidia are just a handful of names driving trillions in spending that began with the rollout of ChatGPT in 2022 and is being powered by AI chip giant Nvidia. While some of these names have been hit by trade tensions between the U.S. and China as well as other tariff fears, that has not altered Ives' view. Meta's Blockbuster Nuclear Deal Read On The Fox Business App "Tariffs are in the background, and they continue to create some uncertainty, but that doesn't change our view that this is a fourth industrial revolution," he added. "Two-trillion dollars is going to be spent over the next three years. Now, I believe we're still in the bottom of the first inning in terms of this non-inning game for AI. And the second, third derivative beneficiaries of tech are just starting to focus on AI." The ETF will trade under the aptly-named ticker, IVES, and will be up against some larger players with AI funds, including iShares, Fidelity and First Trust, as tracked by VettaFi. However, the firm believes it will have an edge with Ives and a fund that has "active insight and passive structure." "I think, when you compare us to the other ones that are kind of tracking these arbitrary, whatever it may be, revenue hurdles or qualifiers based on some third-party having AI in their earnings report, whatever it may be, we're getting it from the source," said Cullen Rogers, Wedbush Fund Advisers' chief investment officer. "I think a lot of them are following trends. We're trying to define them through Dan's mouthpiece." This is the firm's first article source: Wall Street analyst Dan Ives launches AI ETF to tap tech boom Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
TechCrunch Sessions: AI begins tomorrow — today's your last chance to save on tickets
Tomorrow, the doors open at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. What happens next isn't just another AI conference — it's the one you need to be at. gathers the most influential builders, investors, and researchers in artificial intelligence for a day of clarity in an industry clouded by hype. If you're leading a company, allocating capital, or building with code, this is where you need to be. Today's your last chance to lock in low rates. Save $300 on your ticket, and score a second one for half off. Or, test your AI knowledge for a shot at winning 2-for-1 passes. After today, only full-price tickets will be available at the door. We're not interested in AI tourism. We've invited the people shaping policy, deploying real systems, and funding the frontier. Hao Sang, Startups Lead, OpenAI, will explore how startups can gain an edge by partnering with OpenAI — offering insights, tools, and influence straight from the source. Iliana Quinonez, Director, Google Cloud — Infrastructure deep dives for AI startups. Jared Kaplan, co-founder of Anthropic, joins for a fireside on frontier model safety and scaling. Kanu Gulati, partner at Khosla Ventures, lays out what the next fundable moment looks like. Ion Stoica, Databricks co-founder and UC Berkeley professor, explains what's actually required to build infrastructure at AI scale. They'll be joined by executives from Google DeepMind, Accel, Amazon, Cohere, SAP, CapitalG, and many more — each with a perspective you won't find on your LinkedIn feed. Explore the full agenda — and see why you need to be in the room. At the event, set up 1:1 or small-group Braindate meetings to make meaningful connections. Head to the networking lounge for deep-dive conversations that could spark your next move — or your next big idea. This is where the real connections happen. And when the day winds down, the conversations keep going. As the sun sets over Berkeley, Side Events hosted by some of the sharpest operators in AI offer a chance to go even deeper: Toyota Ventures: How early-stage startups can survive and thrive through the AI hype cycle Tanka: Beyond tools: How AI becomes your digital employee MyHomie: Homeownership and property search in the AI Age Prices jump the moment TC Sessions: AI starts. Today is your final opportunity to: Save $300+ on your pass. Add a second ticket for 50% off. Try your luck in our AI Trivia Countdown challenge to score a pass for $200 and get a second ticket free. You're almost out of time — but not out of options. Get in while it still counts. Secure your pass at TC Sessions: AI with pre-door rates — less than 24 hours left. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
