Meta Platforms changed its name from Facebook to Meta Platforms in October 2021 while building its metaverse strategy.
The company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes in 2004. Facebook began as a social-networking service for Harvard students before expanding to other universities and then to users worldwide.
The rebranding separated the corporate identity from the Facebook social network. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger remained major products, while Reality Labs became the division focused on virtual and augmented reality hardware and software.
A common mix-up is treating Meta as a completely new company. It is the same corporate organization that operated as Facebook, Inc.; the Facebook service kept its original name. The company is also distinct from Meta Platforms’ individual products and subsidiaries.