Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta), formerly known as Facebook, Inc., is a multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates, Meta initially started as a social networking platform for Harvard students before expanding globally. In October 2021, the company rebranded to Meta to reflect its strategic shift towards developing the metaverse, an interconnected digital ecosystem using virtual and augmented reality technologies.
Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. These platforms boast billions of monthly active users worldwide. The company generates revenue primarily through advertising, with ad sales accounting for 97.8% of its total revenue as of 2023. Meta is making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and is currently constructing a $10 billion data center in Indiana to boost its AI capabilities. This new data center is designed to deliver 1 gigawatt of capacity and is expected to support over 4,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent operational roles. Meta is considered one of the world's most valuable companies, with a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion as of February 2026.
