ByteDance, Meta battle for virtual-reality market

ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, is starting to snare market share in the virtual-reality headset space that Meta Platforms has identified as critical to its future, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Two years ago, ByteDance bought Pico, a Chinese startup that makes VR headsets. This acquisition, according to WSJ, launched a new front in the Chinese company’s competition with Meta, whose Instagram and Facebook services have been battling for users and advertising dollars against TikTok as the short-video app soared in popularity. Pico’s headset shipments have since jumped, turning it into a small but fast-rising No. 2 to Meta in the global market, according to industry data accessed by WSJ, even though Pico doesn’t sell its consumer headsets in the US. Mark Zuckerberg in 2021 renamed Facebook to Meta in part to reflect his bet on the metaverse, a more immersive version of the internet to be experienced largely through virtual-reality headsets. The company has been spending heavily on that concept, according to WSJ.