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Founded
2004-01-01 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Headquarters
Menlo Park, California, USA

Meta Platforms, Inc., commonly known as Meta, is an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard classmates in 2004 as a college social network, the company has grown into one of the world's most valuable corporations, with a market capitalization regularly exceeding $1 trillion. Meta operates a family of social media and communication platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, serving billions of monthly active users globally. The company generates the vast majority of its revenue from targeted advertising, which accounted for approximately 97.8% of total revenue in 2023. In 2021, the corporate name was changed from Facebook, Inc. to Meta to signal a strategic shift toward building the metaverse, pursued through its Reality Labs division, which produces virtual reality headsets like Meta Quest and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. Meta also invests heavily in artificial intelligence, developing the Llama family of large language models and launching a cloud business, Meta Compute, in 2026.

Detailed Review

History and Founding

Meta Platforms traces its origins to February 4, 2004, when Mark Zuckerberg, along with Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Andrew McCollum, and Chris Hughes, launched "TheFacebook" from a Harvard University dormitory. Initially restricted to Harvard students, the platform expanded rapidly to other universities, high schools, and eventually to anyone aged 13 and older by 2006. The company incorporated as TheFacebook, Inc. in Massachusetts before moving to Palo Alto, California, and later to its current headquarters in Menlo Park. In 2005, the corporate name was shortened to Facebook, Inc. The company's initial public offering in May 2012 raised $16 billion, making it one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history.

Business Model and Revenue

Meta's business model is almost entirely dependent on advertising revenue. The company operates a sophisticated ad-targeting ecosystem that leverages user data across its family of apps. This model has proven extraordinarily profitable, allowing Meta to invest heavily in new technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence. In 2023, advertising accounted for approximately 97.8% of total revenue.

Products and Platforms

Meta owns and operates some of the world's most widely used social media services. Facebook is the flagship social networking platform, allowing users to create profiles, share content, and interact through feeds, stories, and live video. Instagram, acquired in 2012, is a photo- and video-sharing app with features like Stories, Reels, and a creator marketplace. WhatsApp, acquired in 2014, is an end-to-end encrypted messaging and calling service used by billions. Messenger is a standalone messaging app originally part of Facebook. Threads, launched in 2023, is a text-based conversation app integrated with Instagram. Under its Reality Labs division, Meta produces the Meta Quest line of VR headsets and the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses developed with EssilorLuxottica. Meta AI is an AI assistant integrated across its platforms, powered by the Llama and Muse Spark models. Meta Horizon Worlds is a social VR platform. In July 2026, Meta launched Meta Compute, a cloud infrastructure business selling excess AI computing capacity.

Market Position and Competition

Meta is consistently ranked among the world's largest public companies and is a member of the "Big Tech" cohort alongside Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Its primary competitors in social media and digital advertising include Alphabet's Google, TikTok (owned by ByteDance), and Snap. In the VR/AR space, Meta competes with Apple's Vision Pro and various other hardware makers.

Recent Strategic Direction and News

In 2026, Meta shipped its flagship AI model "Muse Spark" (codenamed Avocado) and announced a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar partnership with NVIDIA to expand AI-optimized data centers. The company launched Meta Compute to monetize excess AI infrastructure. Meta has also faced ongoing scrutiny over user privacy, content moderation, and antitrust issues, leading to significant investments in safety tools and transparency initiatives. As part of a "Year of Efficiency" drive, Meta implemented major workforce reductions, including a 13% headcount cut in November 2022 and an additional 10,000-person reduction announced in March 2023.

Key Products

  • Facebook

    Flagship social networking platform launched in 2004. Allows users to create profiles, share content, join groups, and interact via feed, stories, and live video.

  • Instagram

    Photo- and video-sharing social media app acquired in 2012. Features Stories, Reels, direct messaging, and a creator marketplace.

  • WhatsApp

    End-to-end encrypted messaging and calling service acquired in 2014. Offers text, voice, video, and group communication, plus business APIs.

  • Messenger

    Standalone messaging app originally part of Facebook. Supports text, voice, video, chatbots, and payments.

  • Threads

    Text-based conversation app launched in 2023, integrated with Instagram. Designed for real-time public discourse.

  • Meta Quest (formerly Oculus)

    Line of virtual and mixed reality headsets, including Meta Quest 2, 3, and 3S. Provides immersive gaming, work, and social experiences.

  • Ray-Ban Meta Glasses

    Smart glasses developed with EssilorLuxottica. Features built-in cameras, speakers, and AI assistant capabilities.

  • Meta AI

    AI assistant integrated across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Powered by the Llama / Muse Spark models.

  • Meta Horizon Worlds

    Social VR platform where users can create, explore, and play games in a shared virtual environment.

  • Meta Compute

    Cloud infrastructure business launched in July 2026, selling excess AI computing capacity.

Offices & Headcount

77986 employees (approx.)

Key Persons

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