Meta Platforms is the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp and adopted its current name in 2021.
Facebook Inc. announced its rebranding as Meta Platforms, Inc. on October 28, 2021. The new name reflected chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s emphasis on building the metaverse, a broad concept involving immersive digital environments, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
The company’s flagship social network kept the name Facebook, while Instagram and WhatsApp also retained their product names. Meta’s corporate identity therefore differs from the names of its best-known consumer applications. Its public shares trade under the ticker symbol META.
Meta remains one of the largest technology companies by market capitalization because it operates major global communication and advertising platforms. The company has also invested heavily in artificial intelligence, data centers, virtual reality hardware, and recommendation systems.