Ma Jie, Baidu's head of metaverse, has reportedly left the company as Baidu shifts its focus to generative AI.

Ma's name could not be found in the company's internal computer database, according to a source close to the Chinese internet giant.

Baidu has sidelined its metaverse business to focus on AI, following the trend of other tech giants such as Facebook and Tencent.

Despite this, industry experts believe the metaverse is here to stay, but big tech companies may need more time to show progress to shareholders.