Meta loses $200 billion in value in hours after Facebook-owner warns it will invest more than expected in AI - with expenses for 2024 as high as $40 billion

Meta shares crashed as much as 19 percent on Wednesday after Mark Zuckerberg admitted the company was set to lose tens of billions of dollars on his pet projects.

More than $200 bilion was wiped off the company after he said the push into AI and the metaverse would burn as much as $40 billion of cash in 2024.

The metaverse is Zuckerberg's much-derided virtual reality world that exists onine and is viewed through the company's headsets and glasses. It has not been a hit with consumers or businesses. 

He was speaking to analysts and investors after the Facebook-owner released its earnings for the first three months of the year. 

Profits were up but the higher than expected spending and warnings it will make less money than expected from advertising in the second quarter from April to June caused the sell-off.

Mark Zuckerberg was the third richest person in the world - before shares sunk as much as 13 per cent on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg index

Shares of Meta have surged 116 percent over the last 12 months and more than 45 percent year to date. That had catapulted boss Mark Zuckerberg to number three in the Bloomberg richlist. 

Before the earnings, shares were $493 but were down as low as $407 in after-hours - with investors concerned by signs that expenditure was creeping back up. 

That hit Zuckerberg's wealth - which before the earnings report stood at $166 billion. It is thought to have fallen more than $20 billion.

The social media firm posted revenues of £29.2billion for the three months to the end of March, up 27 per cent from the year before.

This is the fastest rate of growth since the third quarter of 2021 for Meta, which owns Instagram and Whatsapp as well as Facebook. Profits more than doubled to £10billion from £4.6billion the year before. 

'We estimate that more than 3.2 billion people use at least one of our apps each day and we're seeing healthy growth in the US,' Zuckerberg told analysts on the investor call. 

But because of investments in AI and the Metaverse, the conpany said it anticipated full year 2024 capital expenditures will be in the range of $35 to $40 billion, up from its earlier forecast of $30 billion to $37 billion.

It also raised its total expenses forecast to $96 billion to $99 billion, up from $94 billion to $99 billion.

Zuckerberg urged investors to be patient as his company made its move into AI, acknowledging that unrolling new products before they made money had 'historically seen a lot of volatility in our stock.'

'Building a leading AI will...be a larger undertaking than the other experiences we've added to our apps and this is likely going to take several years,' he added.

Last week, Zuckerberg unveiled the latest version of Meta AI, which is now being deployed as a beefed up smart assistant across its apps, which include Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook.

Meta's latest technology is being rolled out in more than a dozen English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, Singapore and the United States.

The AI is powered by LLaMA 3, the company´s most powerful large language model, which the company makes available to developers as an open-source product to create their own tools.

The tech giants are locked in a race to become AI leader, with Microsoft, thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, seen as the frontrunner.

The news comes as Zuckerberg, 39, undergoes a mid-life makeover.

Mark Zuckerberg has revamped his attire, donning gold chains and fur coats as he strays away from his standard T-shirt

Mark Zuckerberg (middle) trained with UFC champions Israel Adesanya (left) & Alex Volkanovski (right)

Known for his gaunt, pale, sandal-wearing exterior, Zuckerberg is now reinventing himself with fur coats, diamond chains and a ripped body.

Zuckerberg peaked on Thursday when he posted a video showing off Meta's AI technology, revealing a scruffy, bearded look.

The public had an overwhelming reaction to Zuckerberg's AI-generated look, with one person saying: '[He] went from Mr. steal your data to Mr. steal your girl.'