AFP-YonhapAlibaba Group Holding is scaling down its metaverse operations, according to a source familiar with the matter, making it the latest Big Tech company to pull back resources from the once-popular sector. Dozens of employees at Yuanjing, the metaverse unit of e-commerce giant Alibaba, have been laid off, as part of a restructuring that aims to optimize and improve efficiency in the organization, the source said. Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday. Chinese companies often refer to job cuts as business "optimization" to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the public. Yuanjing was set up by Alibaba in 2021 amid the intense hype surrounding the concept of the metaverse.

Source: The Nation November 04, 2024 13:35 UTC