Meta Platforms is the parent of Facebook and became one of the world's most valuable technology companies after rebranding in 2021.
Facebook's parent company changed its corporate name from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 28, 2021. The rebranding reflected chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's plan to emphasize the metaverse and technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.
Meta's principal social platforms include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Those services give the company a huge global audience and support its advertising business, which has historically supplied most of its revenue.
The name change did not mean that Facebook itself disappeared. Facebook remained a product and social network, while Meta became the corporate name. Meta also retained its Nasdaq ticker, META, after the change.