Meta's VR head John Carmack resigns, calls company inefficient
What's the story
John Carmack, the consulting Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Meta's virtual reality initiatives has resigned to work on his AGI startup, Keen Technologies. Carmack, who has been associated with the tech giant for over nine years, has voiced his strong disagreements with the company's CEO and criticized the Zuckerberg-led company. He posted about his decision to leave on the company's internal Workplace forum.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Carmack has been one of Meta's most vital spokespersons and a well-renowned figure in the VR community. He is known for games like Doom and Quake, and has helped gamers—who are the company's core demographics—understand Meta's vision for AR/VR. But for a while now Carmack has been outspokenly critical of Meta's advancements in augmented/virtual reality, which are essential to its metaverse ambition.
Reason for leaving
Meta is running at half its effectiveness: Carmack
Carmack has criticized Meta in a Facebook post shared earlier today, noting that the company is running at half its effectiveness. "We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort. There is no way to sugarcoat this; I think our organization is operating at half the effectiveness that would make me happy," wrote Carmack.
The journey
Carmack joined Oculus in 2013
Carmack underwent a nearly nine-year-long journey from Oculus to Meta Quest. He joined Oculus as a CTO back in 2013, which was later acquired by Facebook in 2014. Carmack is well-known for three-dimensional game designing, largely due to his contribution to critically-acclaimed first-person shooter franchises like Doom and Quake. He reduced his role to consulting CTO at Oculus (Meta Quest) in 2019.
Plans
Carmack will now work on developing Keen Technologies
After stepping down as Meta's consulting CTO, Carmack is set to work on his company, Keen Technologies, an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) startup. "I wearied of the fight and have my own startup to run," he said Carmack's startup has recently attracted $20 million from former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Cue founder Daniel Gross, Stripe co-founder/CEO Patrick Collison, Shopify co-founder/CEO Tobi Lütke, and others.
Other developments
Meta is shutting down Super, its live-streaming platform
The economic downturn and a drop in revenue have had a significant impact on Meta, forcing the company to reconsider its priorities. Earlier this week, Meta reportedly shut down its Connectivity division. Now Super, a live-streaming platform for influencers, joins a long list of experiments and apps to be taken down by the company. It will be shut down on February 15, 2023.
Development
Super entered development in late 2020
Meta started developing its live-streaming app, Super, back in 2020. The app's testing began earlier this year in August when Meta reportedly reached out to several creators asking them to try out this Twitch-like live-streaming project. Super won't be shut down completely until February 15, 2023, but users won't be able to start new events during this time.
Statement
Meta had aimed to create a virtual meet-and-greet platform
With Super, Meta hoped to create a virtual meet-and-greet experience similar to events like VidCon or Comic-Con. "There was a much greater opportunity for creators and fans to connect in fun and exciting ways," the company said. "It was amazing to see the joy and creativity in each new Super event. Sadly, however, the time has come for us to say goodbye."