Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, announced on Tuesday that it is changing its ticker symbol from “FB” to “META” prior to the market opening on 9 June 2022.
The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg rebranded from Facebook to Meta in October 2021, as part of its bet on the next digital frontier called the metaverse. At the time, according to CNBC, the company said it would change its stock ticker to “MVRS,” which would be effective as of 1 December 2021. However, it said later in November that this would be delayed until the first quarter of 2022.
According to The Verge, changing the company name hasn’t been enough for all the investors to chip in on Zuckerberg’s idea of the metaverse, a virtual world in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. Some investors are still skeptical.
Zuckerberg has been so invested in the metaverse and has told shareholders that the vision will cost the company billions over the next three to five years. It is reported that he also rejected other shareholders’ suggestions during a meeting that was held in May 2022.
Current and former employees alleged that Zuckerberg is so focused on the metaverse that he isn’t interested in anything else. The tech giant employees claim that the internet entrepreneur lacks a coherent strategy to carry the project through.
“Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology,” the company said.
By Zintle Nkohla
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