Meta Platforms adopted its current corporate name in 2021.
Facebook, Inc. announced the name change to Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 28, 2021. The rebranding reflected chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to focus the company more heavily on the metaverse, a concept involving persistent virtual and augmented digital environments.
The Facebook social network kept the Facebook name, while the parent company became Meta. Other major products in the corporate family include Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Reality Labs, which develops virtual- and augmented-reality hardware and software.
The name change did not create a new public company or eliminate Facebook as a service. It changed the identity of the corporate parent and clarified the distinction between the company and its largest social network. Meta remains one of the world’s largest advertising and technology businesses by market capitalization.