Meta to shut down AR studio Spark to focus on other areas, including smart glasses

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) will close an augmented reality studio to focus investments in other areas, including a growing AI business.

The U.S. the social media giant said on Tuesday that it will shut down Meta Spark’s platform of third party tools and content, effective Jan. 14, 2025. This means that AR effects built by third parties, including brands and community of AR Creators, will no longer be available starting on the date.

However, AR effects owned by Meta will continue to be available to users across its family of Apps.

“With the decision to shut down the Meta Spark platform, we’re also shifting resources to the next generation of experiences, across new form factors like glasses,” Meta said in an accompanying post.

Meta noted that the decision was part of its larger efforts to prioritize the products it believes will best serve the future needs of its consumers and business customers.

Last month, during its earnings, Meta had noted that spending on tech (notably including AI) would keep inching higher.