Facebook will announce its major restructuring next week, according to a source who claimed to be familiar with the matter.
The Verge was told by an unnamed source that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, wants to change the world to show the company's ambitions beyond its core social network product.
Facebook describes the plans as the creation of a "metaverse", which is a new phase in interconnected virtual experiences that uses technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality. It aims to bring online interaction closer to what it feels like to interact with people in person.
Similar to the way that Google created Alphabet to oversee multiple companies as it expanded beyond its search engine services in 2015, the rebranding of Facebook is expected to place the company under a new parent company. This will include other Facebook products like Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus VR.
As Facebook continues to deal with scandals, critics are calling for regulation to limit its power. Zuckerberg could create a parent company to help him put more space between his grand metaverse ambitions as well as its ongoing Facebook-related problems. However, the social networking site will likely play a declining role in the future.
According to Facebook, the name of the new parent company is a secret. Zuckerberg will likely announce it at the annual Connect conference, which takes place on Thursday, October 28.
Facebook was launched in 2004 and has since grown to be the most popular social network service with 2.89 billion active users per month. As it strives to expand its business, Facebook has made many acquisitions in recent years.
Facebook just announced that it would hire 10,000 European workers over the next five-years as part of its ambitious metaverse plan. Many highly skilled engineers will be the target of the upcoming recruitment drive.
Zuckerberg spoke to The Verge July 23rd, describing the metaverse as an embodied web where you are not just viewing content but actually experiencing it.
Digital Trends reached out to Facebook to comment on Tuesday's report. We will update this article if we get back.
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