Additional Coverage:
- Billionaires are investing heavily in AI stocks — and one of them could be a game-changer soon (marketrealist.com)
Billionaires Betting Big on AI: Is Meta the Next Apple?
The world’s wealthiest investors are pouring money into Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks, and a recent analysis of third-quarter 2025 13F filings by The Motley Fool reveals some intriguing trends. While familiar tech giants are certainly on the radar, one name, in particular, is generating significant buzz: Meta Platforms (META), with some experts suggesting it could become the “Apple” of the 2030s.
A deep dive into the portfolios of hedge fund manager Philippe Laffont and top investors like Bill Ackman, Warren Buffett, Chase Coleman, Stanley Druckenmiller, and George Soros, shows a near-universal embrace of AI investments. Laffont, whose Coatue Management hedge fund has impressively outpaced the S&P 500 by 94 percentage points over the past three years, has made significant bets on three key AI players: Meta Platforms (7.3%), Microsoft (5.9%), and Amazon (4.7%). Other popular choices among these financial titans include Alphabet (GOOG) and Nvidia (NVDA).
Meta’s potential game-changer appears to be its foray into augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. In September, the company launched its first AR smart glasses, featuring a built-in display and an integrated AI assistant, Meta AI.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a staunch believer that smart glasses will evolve into the primary computing device of the future, and he positions Meta as a leader in this burgeoning market. While the bulk of Meta’s current revenue stems from targeted advertising across its social media platforms, its Reality Labs business unit, responsible for these smart glasses, could soon become a substantial income stream, potentially challenging the dominance of smartphones.
The current Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses are seen not as an immediate blockbuster but as a crucial stepping stone. The company’s grander vision lies with the “Orion” glasses, first announced in 2024 and reportedly slated for a 2027 launch.
These advanced smart glasses are expected to feature built-in displays on both lenses, offering a holographic experience that seamlessly merges the digital and physical worlds. Meta’s ultimate ambition is to pair the Orion glasses with a “superintelligence system” – an AI capable of surpassing human intelligence and learning autonomously.
For investors, Meta’s long-standing commitment to smart glass development is a key factor. Zuckerberg claims Meta is “several years ahead” of competitors like Counterpoint Research.
The Motley Fool posits that if Meta’s vision materializes and smart glasses become the dominant computing platform, the Orion Smart Glasses could indeed become the “iPhone of the 2030s.” While that future is still a ways off, Wall Street currently projects Meta’s earnings to grow at a robust 17% annual rate over the next three years, presenting a compelling outlook for those investing in the stock.