Facebook is Meta's flagship social networking platform, connecting billions of global consumers to share content, join Groups, transact on Marketplace, and use AI-powered search, while serving millions of advertisers and creators through self-serve and enterprise sales.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Facebook does
Facebook, operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and headquartered at 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California, is the social-networking service Meta launched from Harvard in 2004 and now positions as part of a multi-app family that also includes Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Threads, and the Reality Labs hardware business. Functionally, Facebook connects billions of consumers to share text, photo, and video content, join Groups, transact on Marketplace, and surface crisis-response tools such as Safety Check. Its technology stack spans social-graph infrastructure, large-scale AI/ML systems including the Llama foundation models, advertising targeting and ranking, and metaverse/mixed-reality hardware (Meta Quest, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses). The platform now embeds generative AI directly into core flows — Facebook AI Mode converts search into a conversational assistant, the Creator Studio AI companion drafts replies and recommends content in each creator's style, and a bone-structure/behavioral age-verification model screens for underage users across Facebook and Instagram. Underlying modalities span text, image, video, and multimodal retrieval.
Facebook monetizes primarily through advertising — the dominant share of Meta's approximately $200 billion in FY2025 revenue — sold via a self-serve Ads platform used by SMBs and individual creators, plus a dedicated enterprise sales motion for large brand advertisers and agencies. A second revenue stream is launching in 2025–2026: paid subscriptions under the Meta One bundle, with Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus priced at $3.99/month and WhatsApp Plus at $2.99/month, layering recurring revenue on top of the ad-supported base. Additional revenue comes from creator monetization (Facebook accounts for ~16.5% of platform-agnostic creator income), Reality Labs hardware (7M smartglasses sold in 2025), and transaction activity in Marketplace. Distribution is omnichannel — direct-to-consumer mobile apps, the self-serve Ads console, enterprise field sales, an in-platform Creator Studio, an in-app subscription store, and retail/e-commerce for hardware — with operations spanning North America, Europe, MENA, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America.
Facebook firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Legal name
- Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Website
- https://ai.meta.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Facebook is Meta's flagship social networking platform, connecting billions of global consumers to share content, join Groups, transact on Marketplace, and use AI-powered search, while serving millions of advertisers and creators through self-serve and enterprise sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Facebook is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Menlo Park
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Facebook business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Advertising: Meta generates the overwhelming majority of revenue through advertising on Facebook and Instagram, with Facebook commanding $745 million–$794 million in US scam losses alone in 2025, reflecting its massive ad reach. Social media advertising revenue is projected to reach $640 billion globally by 2030 with Meta's properties commanding 54% of the market. Video formats account for 60% of social media advertising revenue.
- Subscription (Meta One / Plus tiers): Meta launched paid subscription plans across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus at $3.99/month each, WhatsApp Plus at $2.99/month, positioning it as the first step toward a unified Meta One subscription brand. Subscriptions offer premium features including custom themes, extended Story visibility, anonymous browsing, and additional personalization while retaining ads.
- Creator Monetization: Facebook allows creators to earn revenue through in-platform monetization tools. The eligibility threshold was recently updated to 300,000 views within 28 days for pages and accounts to qualify. Research shows Facebook accounts for 16.5% of creator income across platforms, with YouTube leading at 28.6%.
- Reality Labs (Hardware): Meta's Reality Labs segment generates revenue from hardware products including Meta Quest VR headsets and Ray-Ban smart glasses (7 million smartglasses sold in 2025). This segment also includes licensing and hardware sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Facebook Plus paid subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | Meta One bundled subscription |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Creator Monetization Eligibility |
| Freemium | Monthly | Creator Studio (Professional Dashboard) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Facebook product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Facebook operates a global social networking platform that enables users to connect with friends and family, share content (text, photos, videos), join Groups, watch Reels, and transact on Marketplace. Revenue is generated primarily by selling targeted digital advertising to businesses of all sizes, supplemented by paid Meta One subscriptions (Facebook Plus), creator monetization tools, and Reality Labs hardware.
Product overview
Meta operates Facebook as a unified platform-plus-services ecosystem, combining its core social media platform with AI-powered tools, creator monetization features, and hardware devices. The primary offerings include Facebook (the main social media platform), Facebook AI Mode (conversational AI search), Creator Studio (AI-powered creator tools), Facebook Plus (premium subscription tier), Facebook Marketplace (e-commerce), and Safety Check (crisis communication). Meta also offers Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses as a hardware extension of its ecosystem. The company is shifting strategic emphasis from metaverse to artificial intelligence, with AI features embedded across the platform for content recommendations, age verification, and creator assistance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Meta One: Premium subscription plan bundling WhatsApp Plus, Facebook Plus, and Instagram Plus with exclusive features including custom themes and extended Story visibility
- Creator Studio
- AI Mode
- Arena
Products and services
- Facebook (social networking platform) Meta's flagship social media platform enabling billions of users to connect with friends and family, share text, photos and videos, join Groups, watch Reels, and discover products and services through Marketplace and advertising.
- Facebook AI Mode Conversational AI-powered search feature that transforms Facebook's search bar into an assistant synthesizing answers from public posts, Group discussions, Reels and Marketplace listings. Available to US users.
- Creator Studio AI Companion App Standalone AI-powered companion app for Facebook creators providing tailored content ideas, analytics, AI-powered comment management, and performance insights in a dedicated workspace.
- Facebook Marketplace Platform within Facebook that enables users to buy and sell items locally, discover deals, and connect with other users for commerce transactions.
- Facebook Safety Check Crisis response tool that allows users in affected areas to confirm their safety status during natural disasters or major incidents and helps users locate affected relatives.
- Facebook Plus Premium subscription tier of Facebook offering enhanced features including custom themes, extended Story visibility, anonymous browsing, and additional personalization options for $3.99/month, with ads retained.
- Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Smart glasses developed with Ray-Ban that capture photos and videos, enable hands-free calls, and integrate with Meta's AI assistant. 7 million units sold in 2025.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 3 billion monthly active users across the Meta family of apps
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Facebook
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Facebook technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature5 records
Facebook partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)coreAMD disclosed Meta's plans to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD Instinct GPUs alongside expanded partnerships with Tata Consultancy Services on sovereign AI infrastructure. AMD's Instinct GPU partnership is a core infrastructure relationship supporting Meta's AI compute expansion.
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)coreAMD disclosed Meta's expanded partnerships with Tata Consultancy Services on sovereign AI infrastructure as part of Meta's broader AI infrastructure deployment plans. TCS serves as a strategic implementation and integration partner for Meta's AI systems.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Facebook competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Reddit: Community-driven social network whose subreddit-based engagement model competes with Facebook Groups for community advertising and AI training datasets.
- YouTube (Alphabet): Alphabet's video and creator-economy platform; the leading destination for creator income (28.6% share versus Facebook's 16.5%) and a direct competitor for video ad budgets and long-form creator retention.
- X (formerly Twitter): Text-and-media social network competing for the same real-time news, public discourse, and advertising audiences; Meta's Threads product is a direct challenger to X.
- Snap Inc. (Snapchat): Ephemeral messaging and AR-camera social platform competing with Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger for younger demographics and branded AR advertising inventory.
- Pinterest: Visual discovery and social shopping platform competing with Facebook Marketplace and Instagram for retail and e-commerce advertising budgets.
- Telegram: Cloud-based messaging platform competing with WhatsApp and Messenger for global messaging share and creator-channel monetization.
- LinkedIn (Microsoft): Microsoft-owned professional social network; competes for social advertising budgets and user time across the broader Meta ecosystem.
- Discord: Community and messaging platform popular with creators and gaming communities, competing with Facebook Groups and Messenger for community engagement.
- TikTok / ByteDance: ByteDance-owned short-form video and social platform competing directly with Facebook and Instagram Reels for user attention, creator monetization, and advertising dollars across global markets.
Broad incumbents
- Alphabet (Google): Dominant digital advertising incumbent whose Search, YouTube, and Display businesses compete for the same ad budgets as Meta's family of apps, while AI Mode competes with Google's AI-search experiences.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Facebook social profiles
Digital presenceFacebook financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Facebook leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Facebook subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Facebook funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds17 records
Investors28 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Facebook M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A114 records
Investments71 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Facebook
What does Facebook do?
Facebook operates a global social networking platform that enables users to connect with friends and family, share content (text, photos, videos), join Groups, watch Reels, and transact on Marketplace. Revenue is generated primarily by selling targeted digital advertising to businesses of all sizes, supplemented by paid Meta One subscriptions (Facebook Plus), creator monetization tools, and Reality Labs hardware.
Is Facebook a public or private company?
Facebook is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Facebook founded?
Facebook was founded in 2004. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Facebook based?
Facebook is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.
How does Facebook make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are subscription (Meta One / Plus tiers), creator Monetization and reality Labs (Hardware).
Who are Facebook's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Reddit, YouTube (Alphabet), X (formerly Twitter), Snap Inc. (Snapchat), Pinterest, Telegram, LinkedIn (Microsoft), Discord and TikTok / ByteDance. Alphabet (Google) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Facebook have an API?
Yes. Meta offers various APIs including the Facebook Graph API for developer access to Facebook data, the Facebook Ad Library API which provides data on advertising campaigns. The Ad Library API has been used by researchers and security firms for analysis purposes.