Brad Gerstner

Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)Much has changed since Mark Zuckerberg last year boldly proclaimed the company once known as Facebook would charge the world headfirst into the so-called metaverse. A historic tech downturn grabbed hold of Meta and left it with 11,000 fewer employees and a stock price down a whopping 65%. Meta reportedly burned over $10 billion dollars into its metaverse vision during that time with little to show for it save avatars with legs that barely work and a $1,500 headset with no real use…

An investment firm said in an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg on Monday that Meta META 0.12% Platforms Inc. should slash staff and pare back its metaverse ambitions, in a sign of rising discontent among shareholders.Altimeter Capital Chief Executive Brad Gerstner wrote that Mr. Zuckerberg needs to take drastic steps to streamline Meta’s operations and address a steep drop in the share price. “Like many other…

TOKYO— SoftBank Group Corp. 9984 10.64% , one of the world’s most aggressive high-tech investors, said Thursday it lost more money in its last fiscal year than it ever has—$13.2 billion—and will cut back its pace of new investments.“The world is in a chaotic situation,” said Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, citing Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “In this chaotic world, the approach we at SoftBank should take is defense.” The rough…