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Since the group was founded in 2004, Facebook has continued to expand its influence and monopoly position by acquiring competing companies. We explain which companies belong to the Facebook group. 
Facebook Group and Meta: Background and Development
Since its renaming in 2021, Meta Platforms, Inc. has been the central parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Meta Quest. The Meta platform focuses strategically on social networking, virtual reality, augmented reality, and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.
- At the Facebook Connect developer conference on October 28, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would rename his company Facebook Inc. to “Meta” in the future. This signaled that Facebook would be focusing on the realization of the cyber world “Metaverse,” the next big mammoth project of founder Zuckerberg, in the coming years.
- The social networks Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, as well as VR hardware manufacturer Oculus, are now united under the umbrella company Meta.
- The Metaverse is Meta’s long-term project for the future. The aim is to create an immersive digital world in which social interaction, collaboration, and commerce merge. Horizon Worlds is Meta’s most important virtual reality platform today and serves as a pioneer in the construction of this new cyber world. Billions in investments underscore the importance of this initiative for the group’s strategy.
- Meta has been operating its own AI labs and high-performance data centers since 2023. Meta is currently investing billions in the expansion of AI and computing infrastructure, including the establishment of Meta Superintelligence Labs. This development is crucial to competing globally with other tech giants and rapidly scaling innovative products. With powerful AI systems, Meta aims to open up new business areas for both users and companies.
- Meta Business Manager is now the central tool for business use. Companies can use it to coordinate advertising campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta platforms, as well as evaluate data and manage digital assets. This standardization of infrastructure is continuously being optimized and expanded.
- Meta continues to face intense debate surrounding data protection, advertising algorithms, and market power. Society, politicians, and regulatory authorities regularly address issues of responsibility and influence exerted by the corporation. Meta is responding to these debates with measures to increase transparency, but also with technological innovations – however, the issue remains highly topical.
- Facebook remained a core business of Meta after its renaming in 2021 and will have approximately 2.5 billion active members per month in 2025. Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Meta Quest also reach billions of people worldwide and are each considered market leaders in their segment. Meta continues to be strategically guided by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who exercises a dominant role in the corporation with special voting rights.
Instagram as a company in the Facebook group
Instagram is a free social network for uploading and sharing photos and videos. The social media app is a mix of microblogging service and audiovisual platform where you can follow your friends or celebrities and various companies. The platform was founded in 2010 by Americans Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.
- In 2012, Facebook bought the photo-sharing service for $1 billion. At the time, this amount exceeded all other amounts ever paid for a digital photo service.
- Instagram, which had 30 million users at the time, had just 12 employees. There was no revenue model at the time. The developers were not making any money with the app.
- Facebook took a big risk by acquiring a company that had not yet made a profit. At that point, the company was just a few weeks away from going public. The $1 billion was paid in cash and shares.
- The microblogging service Twitter, which had previously cooperated with Instagram, blocked direct access to Instagram content via the Twitter API due to the acquisition by Facebook.
- However, this did not diminish the success of the social media platform. Instagram now has one billion users worldwide, including around 21 million in Germany.
- Influencers make a living by sharing photos and videos on Instagram and marketing products there.
- Facebook is currently competing with video portal giant TikTok, particularly with Instagram Reels, short 30-second videos.
- But Instagram is not only interesting for private individuals. Over the years, the network has proven to be a powerful marketing tool for companies, which can use Instagram to increase both their visibility and their reach.
WhatsApp as an important part of the Facebook network
WhatsApp is an instant messaging service founded in 2009 by former Yahoo employees Jan Koum and Brian Acton. The app allows users to send text messages as well as image, video, and audio data to individuals or entire groups. Documents, location information, and contact details can also be shared via WhatsApp. Video calls have been possible via WhatsApp since 2015.
- The short message service already had 450 million users in 2014 and has been responsible for a sharp decline in global SMS traffic since its establishment.
- Facebook recognized the financial potential and, above all, the competitive potential of the SMS alternative WhatsApp early on and subsequently acquired the service in 2014 for $19 billion.
- The original WhatsApp founders Koum and Acton turned their backs on Facebook in 2017 and 2018, respectively, after a latent war of values.
- It was important to both of them to work on a platform that respected the privacy of its users and did not allow advertising. Facebook’s decision to use WhatsApp for advertising after all, in order to monetize user data, made this impossible.
- Brian Acton is now supporting the further development of Signal, an alternative messaging service that places considerable emphasis on data encryption and data minimization.
- WhatsApp has over two billion users worldwide, making it the most successful international messaging service.
Oculus and the VR hardware in the Facebook group
Oculus VR was founded in 2012 by Palmer Luckey, who was 20 years old at the time and had dropped out of college. Luckey earned his living for a while by repairing old iPhones. He financed his video glasses project, now known as Oculus Rift, via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Luckey managed to raise $2.4 million for the development of VR glasses that allow users to immerse themselves in virtual worlds and take video gaming to a whole new level.
- Just two years later, in 2014, Oculus VR was acquired by Facebook for $2.3 billion and renamed Oculus. At the time, the California-based developer and manufacturer of the Oculus Rift had around 100 employees and not a single market-ready product.
- At the time, the manufacturer was targeting its product ideas at the very specific user group of gaming enthusiasts. With the purchase, Facebook pursued the goal of taking Oculus VR’s products out of this niche and turning them into a whole new communication platform.
- As soon as the takeover by Facebook became known, anger spread among the former Kickstarter supporters of Oculus VR. Many people regretted having financially supported the company. Some game developers announced that they would not cooperate with Oculus in the future.
- However, the purchase of Oculus VR in particular opened up a completely new field for Facebook. The company thus took an important step towards virtual and augmented reality.
- Together with Oculus, Facebook Inc. is currently developing Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality online world with an integrated game creation system. It is currently in a beta phase, which is only open to players with a special invitation. Horizon Worlds is considered the first step toward “Metaverse,” Facebook’s latest VR project.
Social network Facebook and Messenger in the Facebook group
The US company Facebook Inc. also owns the social network Facebook of the same name.
- Before Mark Zuckerberg devoted himself to Facebook, he attracted a lot of attention in 2003 with his website facemash.com. On the site he developed, users could compare female students at his university and rate them based on their appearance. However, he did not obtain permission to use the photos for this project and eventually got into trouble.
- Facemash.com was taken offline by the university administration after only a short time, and Mark Zuckerberg had to answer to his university for copyright and privacy violations, but was ultimately allowed to keep his place at Harvard.
- Shortly thereafter, in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, together with his fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskovitz, devoted himself to a new project that focused specifically on Harvard University and was intended to be a kind of digital version of the classic yearbook. However, their platform “Thefacebook.com” became so popular that, shortly afterwards, students from other Ivy League universities were also able to register on the website.
- In 2004, Facebook Inc. was officially founded and by the end of the year, the network already had one million users. Over the next few years, the site’s popularity spread not only to colleges in the United States, but also worldwide.
- Today, Facebook has around 2.5 billion active users per month. Facebook Inc. also owns Facebook Messenger, which is closely linked to the Facebook social network.
- The Facebook network has had a lasting impact on social interaction in the digital space. With masses of users able to access the website regardless of their location, a global connection has been established.
- Over the years, however, Facebook has also been involved in various scandals. Whether it’s data protection, fake news, Cambridge Analytica, or debates about antitrust law and Facebook’s monopoly, the social network is regularly in the headlines.
Additional business areas and services within the Facebook group
The Facebook Group, now operating under the name Meta Platforms, Inc., encompasses other business areas and technologies in addition to the well-known social networks. These complement the main business with innovative products and services in the areas of collaboration, digital payments, and communication. The diverse portfolio reflects Meta’s strategic focus on holistically serving and connecting technological infrastructure and areas of use.
- Workplace: This network specializes in familiar Facebook features such as chatting and groups for the workplace and communication between colleagues.
- Novi: The digital wallet is designed to simplify receiving and sending money internationally. The app works with a cryptocurrency (USDP) and secure blockchain technology. In the future, the feature will also be integrated into other Facebook Inc. apps such as WhatsApp.
- Portal: The company, which specializes in video calls, focuses not on software but on hardware. The camera on Portal devices uses artificial intelligence to ensure that you are always in the picture when video chatting.
- Diem was originally conceived as a comprehensive digital currency and was directly linked to Meta’s efforts in the field of financial technology. The project suffered numerous setbacks, regulatory challenges, and strategic realignments. While Diem was discontinued as a standalone product in 2023, insights and technological developments from it are being incorporated into other digital payment and wallet solutions from Meta.
Future visions: Virtual reality, AR, and the metaverse at Facebook
Meta Platforms, Inc. is pursuing a long-term strategy with the development of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) that aims to fundamentally change digital communication and interaction. These technologies form the basis for the metaverse, a virtual environment in which members can be socially, economically, and culturally connected with each other. Meta is continuously investing in new hardware, software, and platforms to make this vision scientifically sound and technologically feasible.
- The Meta Quest (formerly Oculus) product line includes modern virtual reality headsets that enable users to enter digital worlds. Meta has further developed the product range to reach a broader user base and more diverse applications. The devices are now not only relevant for gaming, but also support applications in education, work, and social interaction.
- Horizon Worlds is an online platform operated by Meta that is the first comprehensive virtual world accessible to interested parties. It enables users to communicate in a shared VR environment, create their own content, and interact with each other. Horizon Worlds is still in development as a beta version, but remains a central building block for the long-term metaverse concept.
- The metaverse is understood as a persistent, shared digital reality that goes beyond current social networks. Meta sees this project as a future in which physical and digital experiences increasingly merge. At the same time, there are significant challenges, such as data protection, technology acceptance, and social inclusion, which must be addressed responsibly.
- The market for virtual and augmented reality is growing rapidly worldwide. Meta is playing a leading role in this segment, and its commitment is supported by an expanding ecosystem of development teams and collaborations. The economic significance of VR/AR as a new communication and work medium is considered substantial and shapes Meta’s innovation goals.
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