Facebook changes company name to Meta, Zuckerberg announces

Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday that the world’s biggest social network will become part of an umbrella company called Meta as part of it’s move into virtual reality. The term, according to Zuckerberg, represents Facebook’s ambitions in virtual and augmented reality, which he refers to as the metaverse.

Divisions under Meta will be Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, Portal and others. The announcement was made at Facebook’s Connect conference.

Announcing @Meta — the Facebook company’s new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we’ll play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection. pic.twitter.com/ywSJPLsCoD

— Facebook (@Facebook) October 28, 2021

“I’m proud of what we’ve built so far, and I’m excited about what comes next — as we move beyond what’s possible today, beyond the constraints of screens, beyond the limits of distance and physics, and towards a future where everyone can be present with each other, create new opportunities and experience new things. It is a future that is beyond any one company and that will be made by all of us,” said Mark Zuckerberg.

“Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future. Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company, and I want to anchor our work and identity on what we’re building toward,” added Zuckerberg.