Facebook parent to be called Meta, firm betting big on virtual experiences

Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on October 28 that the parent firm of the Facebook family of apps and its new endeavours will now be known as Meta.

The company is betting big on the "metaverse," or a social, 3-D virtual space, where people can share immersive experiences with each other, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said at a press briefing early Friday morning.

At the company's annual developer conference, Facebook Connect 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta.

"The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this," Zuckerberg said in a Founder's letter Thursday.

"In the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine — get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create — as well as completely new experiences that don’t really fit how we think about computers or phones today. We made a film that explores how you might use the metaverse one day," he added.

Cox said the firm is taking an early bet on the metaverse, which may take anywhere between five to 15 years to become mainstream.

The individual apps -  Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will continue to be known as they are. The parent company will now be called Meta.

The company has been talking about building the multiverse for some time now.

In September, it announced the XR Programs and Research Fund, a two-year $50 million investment in programs and external research.

Meta envisages the metaverse to be built as standard that are open and interoperable, and will require a hardware component like its Oculus virtual reality headsets.