Facebook has announced that, going forward, it will be known as Meta. Beset by numerous scandals in recent weeks, the firm is aiming to transition to become “a metaverse company” rather than a social media firm, enlarging its monopoly powers in more areas.
Mired in numerous antitrust probes, battling investigations in multiple countries, and desperately trying to defuse the revelations from an explosive series of internal document leaks, Facebook hinted earlier this month that it would be taking on a new direction based on an immersive “metaverse” experience.
Announcing @Meta — the Facebook company’s new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we’ll play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection. pic.twitter.com/ywSJPLsCoD
— Meta (@Meta) October 28, 2021
“We are a company that builds technology to connect,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg declared when announcing the name change on Thursday during the company’s Connect 2021 event.
“Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.”
While Zuckerberg has not yet revealed full details of the coming metaverse, the Meta subsite on Facebook’s homepage describes it as “the next evolution of social connection.”
The CEO can be seen “ascending into the Metaverse” in a video clip shown during his Connect 2021 keynote speech, in which he stares off into space as his surroundings turn a vaguely computerized shade of blue.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ascends into the Metaverse during Connect 2021 Keynote pic.twitter.com/wJKqgE8MKl
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 28, 2021
While it’s not clear when Zuckerberg decided on the name Meta, a company by that name was acquired by his Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2017. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, not far from Facebook’s own headquarters, the firm operated a “literature discovery platform” called Meta Science.
Zuckerberg told Verge Times in an interview published on Thursday that he had been thinking about rebranding Facebook’s holding company ever since his acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp (in 2012 and 2014, respectively), and finally opted to do so this year.
A week after The Verge first reported that Mark Zuckerberg would rebrand/rename Facebook, the tech giant’s CEO just announced that the new name is ‘Meta’.
Zuckerberg first noted in July that he wanted Facebook to eventually become a “metaverse company,” and last week, the company said it would hire 10,000 people across Europe specifically to build out its metaverse project.
The Matrix is real. $FB (via @therecount) pic.twitter.com/uhP3HtjrLG
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) October 28, 2021
WATCH: Sneak Peek at Facebook metaverse pic.twitter.com/rUGGiJeMLr
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 28, 2021
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Introducing Meta: A Social Technology Company
Today at Connect 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta, which brings together Facebook’s apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.
The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together — and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world. It’s the next evolution in a long line of social technologies, and it’s ushering in a new chapter for the company. Zuckerberg shared more about this vision in a founder’s letter.
The annual Connect conference brings together augmented and virtual reality developers, content creators, marketers and others to celebrate the industry’s momentum and growth. This year’s virtual event explored what experiences in the metaverse could feel like over the next decade — from social connection, to entertainment, gaming, fitness, work, education and commerce. The company also announced new tools to help people build for the metaverse, including Presence Platform, which will enable new mixed reality experiences on Quest 2, and a $150-million investment in immersive learning to train the next generation of creators.
You can watch the full Connect keynote and learn more about how the metaverse will unlock new opportunities at meta.com. You can also learn more about the company’s work over the past several months to develop the Meta brand on its design blog.
Facebook’s corporate structure is not changing as Meta. However, how it reports on financials will. Starting with results for the fourth quarter of 2021, the company plans to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. Meta also intends to start trading under the new stock ticker that the company reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today’s announcement does not affect how the company uses or shares data.
About Meta
Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.