The developer of a virtual reality yoga app has filed a lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of retaliating after it learned he was also in talks with Apple about bringing the app to Vision Pro.
This story is supported by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that fully integrates five different applications on a single Apple-only platform, allowing businesses and schools to easily and automatically deploy, manage, and protect all their Apple devices. Over 38,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment, management, and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.
As reported by Bloomberg, developer Andre Elijah had worked closely with Meta on a partnership to launch his AEI Fitness app on Meta’s Quest virtual reality platforms. According to Elijah, the app was set to be unveiled at Meta Connect, the company’s two-day VR event that was held last month.
But while preparing for the keynote, which would include a “gorgeous trailer” for the AEI Fitness app, Elijah says he was told the deal was off. Meta allegedly banned Elijah from Meta Connect and put his name on “a blacklist of developers it refuses to do business with.”
“It was hell working on it, and we got there,” Elijah said in an interview, adding that the company made a “gorgeous” trailer for its presentation at the conference. But while preparing to be part of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote, he says, he was told, “‘No, the project’s killed, we’re not giving you your money.’”
Elijah’s lawsuit accuses Meta of scrapping the deal after it learned that he had also talked with Apple about bringing AEI Fitness to Vision Pro, as well as talks with ByteDance for the company’s Pico platform.
Apple and Pico, the lawsuit says, agreed to launch the AEI Fitness app “on their platforms within the next 1-2 years.”
Within just days of the scheduled launch of the AEI Fitness App, Meta learned that the AEI Fitness App was going to launch on Apple and Pico also.
And so, with this new information in hand, Meta, and each of the other Defendants, conspired, colluded, aided-and abetted one another, and acted in concert, to put an end to the AEI Fitness App, and to proverbially nail its coffin shut so that it could never see the light of day.
In the lawsuit, Elijah argues that Meta’s retaliation will “result in reduced innovation, quality and choice, less pressure to compete for the most talented app developers, and potentially higher prices for VR fitness apps.”
According to Bloomberg, Meta had already paid Elijah around $1.5 million. Through the lawsuit, the developer is seeking “$3.2 million more in the near term, and hundreds of millions in lost revenue and damages.” In total, that equates to over $353 million in damages, the lawsuit says.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments