Meta Platforms changed its name from Facebook in 2021 to reflect its focus on building the metaverse.
Facebook announced the corporate rebrand to Meta on October 28, 2021. The change separated the parent company’s identity from its original social-network product and emphasized a broader strategy involving virtual and augmented reality, digital social spaces, and related hardware.
The company’s major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, retained their names. Meta also kept Facebook as the name of its original social-network service, so the corporate name and product name are not interchangeable.
Meta’s market capitalization has moved sharply over time as investors evaluated advertising demand, privacy changes, artificial-intelligence investment, and metaverse spending. Its stock ticker changed from FB to META in June 2022.