"Facebook to Change Name Next Week" ... Part of Strengthening Metaverse Strategy

▲Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook [Image source=AP News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Facebook, the world's largest social media (SNS) company, is reportedly planning to change its company name next week. This is interpreted as a decision to strengthen its metaverse strategy.

On the 19th (local time), IT media The Verge cited sources familiar with the matter, reporting that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO, plans to announce this idea at the annual conference "Facebook Connect" held on the 28th. However, it was added that the announcement could be made earlier depending on the situation.

The Verge predicted that Facebook is likely to become a parent company overseeing Instagram, WhatsApp, and others.

The new company name has been kept strictly confidential within the company and was reportedly not well known even among senior executives.

However, sources speculated that it might be related to Facebook's virtual reality (VR) platform "HORIZON."

This decision by Facebook appears to be a measure to go beyond its role as a simple SNS and to target the metaverse market, as well as to overcome recent consecutive setbacks.

Recently, Facebook's corporate image has been tarnished due to internal whistleblowing incidents. It is also currently involved in lawsuits with the U.S. federal government over monopoly controversies.

In the U.S. Congress, voices are growing louder to strengthen legal regulations against unfair practices by major IT companies, including Facebook.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The Verge analyzed that Facebook's move also signifies its intention to break free from regulatory oversight on SNS and focus separately on future businesses.

Facebook views the metaverse as the next-generation world and is actively pursuing this path.

The metaverse is a three-dimensional virtual convergence world where virtual avatars operate. The term itself originates from Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel "Snow Crash," and has gained significant attention as the next-generation platform amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which made face-to-face contact difficult.

CEO Zuckerberg previously expressed in an interview with media that within a few years, the company would transform from being primarily known as a social media company to becoming a metaverse company.

Zuckerberg said, "The metaverse will gain significant attention going forward," and predicted, "It will play a major role in the future direction of the internet after the mobile internet era."

Accordingly, Facebook is pursuing a strategy focused on next-generation technologies.

Currently, more than 10,000 employees are working on products such as augmented reality (AR) glasses, and recently partnered with eyewear company Luxottica to release AR smart glasses. CEO Zuckerberg believes this market will eventually become as widespread as smartphones and is focusing on it.

In mid-year, Facebook formed a dedicated metaverse team within the company, and recently, Andrew Bosworth, head of VR and AR, was appointed as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Yesterday, Facebook announced a large-scale hiring plan to strengthen its metaverse strategy by recruiting an additional 10,000 employees in Europe, actively securing talent.

As the landscape of future technology changes, major IT companies including Facebook are pursuing company name changes to expand related businesses.

Google established the holding company "Alphabet" in 2015, significantly reorganizing its governance structure. This was an innovative intention to transform from a simple search engine function to a company developing autonomous vehicles and healthcare technologies.

SNS company Snapchat rebranded as Snap Inc. in 2016, defining itself as a camera company. It later attracted attention by releasing the sunglasses-type camera "Spectacles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.