Meta Platforms
| Meta Platforms | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Industry | Technology, Social networking, Virtual reality, Augmented reality |
| Founded | February 4, 2004 |
| Founder | Mark Zuckerberg |
| Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, U.S. |
| Notable Personnel | Mark Zuckerberg (Chairman and CEO), Andrew Bosworth (CTO) |
| Products | Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads, Meta Quest headsets, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses |
| Website | www.meta.com |
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It was founded on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg as the social networking service Facebook.[1] The company became publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "FB" following its initial public offering on May 18, 2012.[1] On October 28, 2021, Facebook, Inc. renamed itself Meta Platforms, Inc. to reflect a long-term strategic focus on the Metaverse and on virtual and augmented reality technologies.[2][3] It is not to be confused with Meta, the company that made the Meta 1 and Meta 2 augmented reality headsets.
In addition to its core social products (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads), Meta is one of the largest manufacturers of consumer virtual reality hardware through its Reality Labs division, and it is a leading developer of smart glasses and augmented reality technology.[1]
Acquisition of Oculus
Meta entered the virtual reality market by acquiring Oculus VR, the maker of Oculus Rift devices. The acquisition was announced on March 25, 2014, for a total value of approximately 2 billion dollars.[4] The deal included 400 million dollars in cash and 23.1 million shares of Facebook common stock, valued at 1.6 billion dollars based on the average closing price over the 20 trading days preceding March 21, 2014. An additional 300 million dollars in cash and stock was allocated as an earn-out contingent on the achievement of certain milestones.[4] The acquisition closed in July 2014 after regulatory approval.[1]
Reality Labs
- Main article: Reality Labs
On August 25, 2020, the company announced the formation of Facebook Reality Labs, a unit that consolidated its virtual reality and augmented reality hardware and software efforts.[5] Following the corporate name change in October 2021, the division was renamed Reality Labs. The unit is one of two financial reporting segments Meta announced in late 2021, alongside the Family of Apps; the company stated it would invest about 10 billion dollars in Reality Labs over the following year.[3][5] Reality Labs is led by Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer.[5]
The Oculus consumer brand was phased out beginning in 2021, with social accounts renamed to Meta Quest in January 2022 and prior hardware retroactively rebranded (for example, Oculus Quest 2 became Meta Quest 2).[5]
VR headsets
Under Facebook and later Meta, the Oculus and Meta Quest product lines have spanned tethered PC headsets and standalone devices.
| Product | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oculus Rift (CV1) | March 2016 | First consumer PC-tethered headset; shipped to consumers on March 28, 2016.[6] |
| Oculus Go | 2018 | Standalone mobile headset; unveiled in October 2017 with Xiaomi.[1] |
| Oculus Quest | 2019 | First standalone 6DoF headset; unveiled September 2018.[1] |
| Oculus Rift S | 2019 | Updated PC-tethered headset with inside-out tracking.[1] |
| Oculus Quest 2 | October 2020 | Best-selling standalone headset; later rebranded Meta Quest 2.[1] |
| Meta Quest Pro | October 2022 | High-end mixed-reality headset with face and eye tracking.[1] |
| Meta Quest 3 | October 10, 2023 | Mixed-reality standalone headset; pre-orders opened September 28, 2023.[7] |
| Meta Quest 3S | October 15, 2024 | Entry-level model unveiled September 25, 2024.[8] |
Smart glasses and AR
Meta has pursued wearable smart glasses in partnership with eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica. Ray-Ban Stories, the first generation of camera-equipped smart glasses, launched on September 9, 2021.[1] The successor Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses were announced at Meta Connect on September 27, 2023 and went on sale October 17, 2023, adding an improved camera, water resistance, and a voice interface with Meta AI.[9]
At Meta Connect on September 25, 2024, the company revealed Orion, described by Mark Zuckerberg as its first prototype of full holographic augmented reality glasses. Orion was developed as an internal developer kit rather than a consumer product, because the manufacturing process was too complex and expensive for mass production.[10]
Apps
Meta develops Horizon Worlds (formerly Facebook Horizon), a social virtual reality platform where users interact through avatars. It launched in late 2021.[11] In March 2026, Meta announced plans to scale back the platform and emphasize a mobile-first version as it shifted focus toward artificial intelligence; the company initially said it would remove VR support on June 15, 2026, but reversed that decision days later, with CTO Andrew Bosworth stating Horizon Worlds would continue to work in VR.[11][12]
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg on February 4.[1] |
| 2012 | Facebook, Inc. holds its initial public offering on May 18.[1] |
| 2014 | Acquires Oculus VR for approximately 2 billion dollars (announced March 25, closed July).[4] |
| 2016 | Oculus Rift consumer headset ships in March.[6] |
| 2019 | Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S released.[1] |
| 2020 | Facebook Reality Labs division formed (August 25); Oculus Quest 2 released (October).[5][1] |
| 2021 | Ray-Ban Stories launch (September 9); Facebook, Inc. renamed Meta Platforms, Inc. (October 28); Horizon Worlds launches.[2][11] |
| 2022 | Meta Quest Pro released (October); Oculus brand fully transitioned to Meta Quest.[5] |
| 2023 | Meta Quest 3 (October 10) and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (October 17) released.[7][9] |
| 2024 | Meta Quest 3S released (October 15); Orion AR prototype revealed at Connect (September 25).[8][10] |
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "Meta Platforms". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Facebook Changes Its Name to Meta in Major Rebrand". 2021-10-28. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/technology/facebook-meta-name-change.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Form 8-K, Meta Platforms, Inc.". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2021-10-28. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001326801/000132680121000071/fb-20211028.htm.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Facebook to Acquire Oculus". Facebook. 2014-03-25. https://about.fb.com/news/2014/03/facebook-to-acquire-oculus/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Reality Labs". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Labs.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Oculus Rift CV1". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus_Rift_CV1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Meta Quest 3". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Quest_3.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Meta Quest 3S". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Quest_3S.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Introducing the New Ray-Ban | Meta Smart Glasses". Meta. 2023-09-27. https://about.fb.com/news/2023/09/new-ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses/.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Meta Orion AR Glasses: everything we know about the game-changing prototype". 2024-09-25. https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/meta-orion-ar-glasses-everything-we-know-about-the-game-changing-prototype.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Meta is shutting down VR social platform Horizon Worlds in further pivot away from the metaverse". 2026-03-18. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/meta-horizon-worlds-metaverse-vr.html.
- ↑ "Meta decides not to shut down Horizon Worlds on VR after all". 2026-03-19. https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/meta-decides-not-to-shut-down-horizon-worlds-on-vr-after-all/.