SILICON VALLEY — By Christine Chapel-Hill, AI Bee Reel Staff

January 29, 2026

MENLO PARK, Calif. — In a bold move to keep the company’s vision alive during the winter months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was seen wearing a VR headset and heavy-duty oven mitts, shoveling literal pallets of cash into a roaring furnace labeled "The Metaverse." Meanwhile, a group of confused shareholders watched through a glass wall, impatiently tapping their watches as the flames consumed another quarterly earnings report.

"This fire is the only way to make the virtual world feel real," said Chief Financial Officer Susan Li, wiping soot from her blazer. "We burned $19 billion last year. That is actually a very cheap price to heat the break room and draw legs on avatars that nobody uses." The reported financial losses follow a series of layoffs at the VR unit.

"To keep the fire bright, we need to feed it $50 million a day," explained VP of Reality Labs Andrew Bosworth, tossing a stack of pink slips into the blaze. "It looks like a huge waste of money to the untrained eye. But inside the headset, this burning pile looks exactly like a thriving digital city."

At press time, Zuckerberg ran out of paper bills and began tossing actual VR headsets into the furnace to keep the metaverse warm for the three people currently logged in.

Inspired by the real story: Meta’s Reality Labs division lost a staggering $19 billion in 2025 as it continues to pour money into virtual reality development. Read the full story.