Facebook has new corporate parent, new name: Meta

MENLO PARK, Calif. (NBC) – Facebook is rebranding. Thursday the social media behemoth announced it will now go by the corporate name “Meta.”

The names of the apps, like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, will not change.

The change was announced in a virtual event posted on the company’s Facebook page.

CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg said it is time for the company to prepare to go beyond the social networks.

He explained, “We are now looking at and reporting on our business in two different segments. One for our family of apps and one for our work on future platforms and as part of this, it’s time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do to reflect who we are and what we hope to build. To reflect our brand I am proud to announce our company is now Meta. Our mission remains the same it’s still about bringing people together. Our apps and brands they are not changing either. And we are still the company that designs technology around people. ”

Facebook was launched just 17 years ago and now is used by more than 3.5 billion people globally.