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| This article is part of a series about |
| Meta Platforms |
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Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.) is a technology company that has acquired 91 other companies, including WhatsApp. The WhatsApp acquisition closed at a steep $16 billion; more than $40 per user of the platform. Meta also purchased the defunct company ConnectU in a court settlement and acquired intellectual property formerly held by rival Friendster. The majority of the companies acquired by Meta are based in the United States, and in turn, a large percentage of these companies are based in or around the San Francisco Bay Area. Meta has also made investments in LuckyCal and Wildfire Interactive.\n
Most of Meta's acquisitions have primarily been \"talent acquisitions\" and acquired products are often shut-down. In 2009, Meta (as Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a question on Quora, titled \"What startups would be good acquisitions for Facebook?\", receiving 79 answers.[1][2] He stated in 2010 that \"We have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people... In order to have a really entrepreneurial culture one of the key things is to make sure we're recruiting the best people. One of the ways to do this is to focus on acquiring great companies with great founders.\"[3] The Instagram acquisition, announced on April 9, 2012, appears to have been the first exception to this pattern.[4] While continuing with a pattern of primarily talent acquisitions, other notable product focused acquisitions include the $19 billion WhatsApp acquisition and the $2 billion Oculus VR acquisition.\n
\n| Number\n | \nCompany\n | \nLocation\n | \nAcquired on\n | \nAcquired for (USD)\n | \nTalent acquired\n | \nRelated to\n | \nUsed as / integrated with\n | \nReferences\n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1\n | \nfacebook.com domain name\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png\") USA, Boston, Massachusetts\n | \n\n August 23, 2005\n \n | \n200,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nname change from Thefacebook.com\n | \n[5][6]\n |
| 2\n | \nParakey\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n July 19, 2007\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nBlake Ross, Joe Hewitt\n | \nY Combinator, Sequoia Capital\n | \nFacebook Mobile\n | \n[7]\n |
| 3\n | \nConnectU\n | \n USA, Cambridge, Massachusetts\n | \n\n June 23, 2008\n \n | \n31,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \ni2Hub\n | \n(Court settlement)\n | \n[8][9]\n |
| 4\n | \nFriendFeed\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n August 10, 2009\n \n | \n47,500,000\n | \nPaul Buchheit, Bret Taylor, Jim Norris, Sanjeev Singh, 8 others\n | \nBenchmark Capital, ex-Google\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[10]\n |
| 5\n | \nOctazen\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Flag_of_Malaysia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Malaysia.svg.png\") Malaysia, Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur\n | \n\n February 19, 2010\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n2 engineers (remote workers)\n | \n\u2014\n | \nWebsluths\n | \n[11]\n |
| 6\n | \nDivvyshot\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n March 2, 2010\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nSam Odio, Paul Carduner\n | \nY Combinator, AngelList\n | \nFacebook Photos\n | \n[12]\n |
| 7\n | \nFriendster patents\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California / Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur\n | \n\n May 13, 2010\n \n | \n40,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[13]\n |
| 8\n | \nShareGrove\n | \n USA, San Mateo, California\n | \n\n May 26, 2010\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nKent Libbey, Adam Wolff\n | \nElm Street Ventures\n | \nFacebook Groups\n | \n[14]\n |
| 9\n | \nZenbe\n | \n USA, New York, NY, New York\n | \n\n July 6, 2010\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nTom Alison, Will Bailey, Robert Kiefer\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Messenger\n | \n[15]\n |
| 10\n | \nNextstop\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n July 8, 2010\n \n | \n2,500,000\n | \nCharles Lin, Carl Sjogreen, Adrian Graham\n | \nex-Google\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[16]\n |
| 11\n | \nChai Labs\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n August 15, 2010\n \n | \n10,000,000\n | \nGokul Rajaram, Giri Rajaram, others\n | \nMerus Capital, ex-Google\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[17]\n |
| 12\n | \nHot Potato\n | \n USA, Brooklyn, New York\n | \n\n August 20, 2010\n \n | \n~10,000,000\n | \nSaadiq Rodgers-King, Justin Shaffer, 6 others\n | \nRRE Ventures\n | \nFacebook Places\n | \n[18]\n |
| 13\n | \nDrop.io\n | \n USA, Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York\n | \n\n October 29, 2010\n \n | \n~10,000,000\n | \nSam Lessin\n | \nRRE Ventures\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[19]\n |
| 14\n | \nFB.com domain name\n | \n USA, Washington, D.C.\n | \n\n November 15, 2010\n \n | \n8,500,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[20]\n |
| 15\n | \nRel8tion\n | \n USA, Seattle, Washington\n | \n\n January 25, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nPeter Wilson\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[21]\n |
| 16\n | \nBeluga\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, California\n | \n\n March 2, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nJonathan Perlow, Lucy Zhang, Ben Davenport\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Messenger\n | \n[22]\n |
| 17\n | \nSnaptu\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/21px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png\"){kind=spacer} Israel, Tel Aviv\n | \n\n March 20, 2011\n \n | \n70,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[23]\n |
| 18\n | \nRecRec\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n March 24, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \nDogpatch Labs\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[24]\n |
| 19\n | \nDayTum\n | \n USA, SoHo, New York City\n | \n\n April 27, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nNicholas Felton, Ryan Case\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[25]\n |
| 20\n | \nSofa\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png\") Netherlands, Amsterdam\n | \n\n June 9, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nKoen Bok, Dirk Stoop, Jasper Hauser, Hugo van Heuven, Jorn van Dijk\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[26]\n |
| 21\n | \nMailRank\n | \n USA, New York, New York\n | \n\n June 9, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nBryan O\u2019Sullivan and Bethanye McKinney Blount\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[27]\n |
| 22\n | \nPush Pop Press\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n August 2, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nCo-founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[28][29][30]\n |
| 23\n | \nFriend.ly\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n October 10, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nCo-founder/CEO Ed Baker\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[31][32][33]\n |
| 24\n | \nStrobe\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n November 8, 2011\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nFounder and CEO Charles Jolley, other Strobe employees\n | \n\u2014\n | \nMobile engineering team\n | \n[34][35]\n |
| 25\n | \nGowalla\n | \n USA, Austin, Texas\n | \n\n December 2, 2011\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[36]\n |
| 26\n | \nCaffeinatedmind\n | \n USA, California\n | \n\n February 20, 2012\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n |
| 27\n | \nInstagram\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n April 9, 2012\n \n | \n1,000,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n |
| 28\n | \nTagtile\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n April 13, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nTagtile's founders\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[37][38]\n |
| 29\n | \nGlancee\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n May 5, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nAndrea Vaccari, Alberto Tretti, Gabriel Gris\u00e9\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Nearby Friends\n | \n[39][40]\n |
| 30\n | \nLightbox.com\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png\") UK, London, England\n | \n\n May 15, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nThai Tran, Nilesh Patel, Five employees\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[41]\n |
| 31\n | \nKarma\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n May 21, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nLee Linden, Ben Lewis\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Gifts\n | \n[42]\n |
| 32\n | \nFace.com\n | \n Israel, Tel Aviv\n | \n\n June 18, 2012\n \n | \n100,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[43][44]\n |
| 33\n | \nSpool\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n July 14, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nAvichal Garg, Curtis Spencer, Six employees\n | \n\u2014\n | \nMobile engineering team\n | \n[45]\n |
| 34\n | \nAcrylic Software\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg.png\") Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia\n | \n\n July 20, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nTwo employees\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook's design team\n | \n[46]\n |
| 35\n | \nThreadsy\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n August 24, 2012\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[47]\n |
| 36\n | \nAtlas Solutions\n | \n USA, Seattle, Washington\n | \n\n February 28, 2013\n \n | \n<100,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[48]\n |
| 37\n | \nosmeta\n | \n USA, Mountain View, CA\n | \n\n March 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n17 engineers\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[49]\n |
| 38\n | \nStorylane (Mixtent)\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, CA\n | \n\n March 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nJonathan Gheller, 5 engineers\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[50]\n |
| 39\n | \nHot Studio\n | \n USA, New York, New York, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n March 14, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[51]\n |
| 40\n | \nSpaceport\n | \n USA, Burlingame, California\n | \n\n April 23, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[52]\n |
| 41\n | \nParse\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n April 25, 2013\n \n | \n85,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[53]\n |
| 42\n | \nMonoidics\n | \n UK, London, England\n | \n\n July 18, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[54]\n |
| 43\n | \nJibbigo\n | \n USA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania\n | \n\n August 12, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[55]\n |
| 44\n | \nOnavo\n | \n Israel, Tel Aviv\n | \n\n October 13, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \nGuy Rosen, CEO\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[56]\n |
| 45\n | \nSportStream\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n December 17, 2013\n \n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[57]\n |
| 46\n | \nLittle Eye Labs\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/23px-Flag_of_India.svg.png\") India, Bengaluru, Karnataka\n | \n\n January 8, 2014\n \n | \n15,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[58][59]\n |
| 47\n | \nBranch\n | \n USA, New York, New York\n | \n\n January 13, 2014\n \n | \n15,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[60]\n |
| 48\n | \nWhatsApp\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n February 19, 2014\n \n | \n19,000,000,000\n | \nCo-founder and CEO Jan Koum\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[61]\n |
| 49\n | \nOculus VR\n | \n USA, Irvine, California\n | \n\n March 25, 2014\n \n | \n2,000,000,000\n | \nCo-founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe, Engineer Chris Dycus, and CTO John D. Carmack\n | \n\u2014\n | \nReality Labs\n | \n[62][63]\n |
| 50\n | \nAscenta\n | \n UK, Somerset, England\n | \n\n March 27, 2014\n \n | \n20,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[64]\n |
| 51\n | \nSalorix\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, CA\n | \nApril 14, 2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nSantanu Bhattacharya\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\n |
| 52\n | \nProtoGeo Oy\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Finland.svg.png\") Finland, Helsinki\n | \n\n April 24, 2014\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nMoves mobile app; discontinued in July 2018\n | \n[65][66][67][68]\n |
| 53\n | \nPrivateCore\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, California\n | \n\n August 7, 2014\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[69]\n |
| 54\n | \nLiveRail\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \n\n August 14, 2014\n \n | \n400,000,000 - 500,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[70]\n |
| 55\n | \nWaveGroup Sound\n | \n USA, Burlingame, California\n | \n\n August 26, 2014\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[71]\n |
| 56\n | \nWit.ai\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, California\n | \n\n January 6, 2015\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[72]\n |
| 57\n | \nQuickfire Networks\n | \n USA, San Diego, California\n | \n\n January 8, 2015\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[73]\n |
| 58\n | \nTheFind, Inc.\n | \n USA, Mountain View, California\n | \n\n March 14, 2015\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[74]\n |
| 59\n | \nSurreal Vision\n | \n UK, London, England\n | \n\n May 26, 2015\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[75]\n |
| 60\n | \nEndaga\n | \n US, Oakland, California\n | \n\n October 3, 2015\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[76]\n |
| 61\n | \nPebbles\n | \n Israel, Kfar Saba\n | \n\n July 16, 2015\n \n | \n60,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[77]\n |
| 62\n | \nMSQRD (Masquerade)\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Flag_of_Belarus.svg/23px-Flag_of_Belarus.svg.png\") Belarus, Minsk\n | \n\n March 9, 2016\n \n | \nundisclosed\n | \nCEO, Eugene Nevgen, Sergey Gonchar, Eugene Zatepyakin (co-founders)\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[78][79]\n |
| 63\n | \nTwo Big Ears\n | \n UK, Scotland\n | \nMay 23, 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[80]\n |
| 64\n | \nNascent Objects\n | \n US, California\n | \nSep 19, 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[81]\n |
| 65\n | \nInfiniled\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Flag_of_Ireland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Ireland.svg.png\") Ireland, Cork\n | \nOctober 10, 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\n |
| 66\n | \nCrowdTangle\n | \n USA\n | \nNovember 11, 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[82][83]\n |
| 67\n | \nFaciometrics\n | \n USA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania\n | \nNovember 16, 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nFernando De la Torre\n | \nCarnegie Mellon University\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[84]\n |
| 68\n | \nZurich Eye\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Flag_of_Switzerland_%28Pantone%29.svg/16px-Flag_of_Switzerland_%28Pantone%29.svg.png\") Switzerland\n | \nNovember 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus VR\n | \n[85]\n |
| 69\n | \nOzlo\n | \n USA, Palo Alto, California\n | \nJuly 31, 2017\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Messenger\n | \n[86]\n |
| 70\n | \nFayteq AG\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/23px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png\") Germany\n | \nAugust 2017\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Live\n | \n[87]\n |
| 71\n | \ntbh\n | \n USA, Oakland, California\n | \nOctober 16, 2017\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nCEO Nikita Bier, CTO Erik Hazzard, Kyle Zaragoza, Nicolas Ducdodon\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[88]\n |
| 72\n | \nConfirm\n | \n USA, Boston, Massachusetts\n | \nJanuary 23, 2018\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nBob Geiman, Ralph Rodriguez, Walt Doyle\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[89]\n |
| 73\n | \nBloomsbury AI\n | \n UK\uff0cLondon\n | \nJuly 2018\n | \n30,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[90]\n |
| 74\n | \nRedkix\n | \n Israel, Tel Aviv\n | \nJuly 26, 2018\n | \n100,000,000\n | \nOudi Antebi, Roy Antebi\n | \n\u2014\n | \nWorkplace by Facebook\n | \n[91]\n |
| 75\n | \nVidpresso\n | \n USA, Ogden, Utah\n | \nAugust 13, 2018\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nRandall Bennett, Justin Carter, Pauli Ojala, Hassan Salahuddin\n | \nY Combinator\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[92]\n |
| 76\n | \nDreambit\n | \n USA, Seattle, Washington\n | \nSep 2016\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nIra Kemelmacher-Shlizerman, Eli Shlizerman\n | \nUniversity of Washington\n | \nReality Labs\n | \n[93]\n |
| 77\n | \nChainspace\n | \n UK, London\n | \nFebruary 2019\n | \n\u2014\n | \nGeorge Danezis, Shehar Bano, Alberto Sonnino\n | \nUniversity College London\n | \nFacebook Blockchain\n | \n[94]\n |
| 78\n | \nGrokStyle\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \nFebruary 8, 2019\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nKavita Bala, Sean Bell\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[95]\n |
| 79\n | \nServicefriend\n | \n Israel, Tel Aviv\n | \nSeptember 2019\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nIdo Arad, Shahar Ben Ami\n | \n\u2014\n | \nNovi\n | \n[96]\n |
| 80\n | \nCTRL-labs\n | \n USA, New York City, New York\n | \nSeptember 2019\n | \nundisclosed, but reportedly between $500 million and $1 billion\n | \nThomas Reardon, Patrick Kaifosh\n | \n\u2014\n | \nReality Labs\n | \n[97]\n |
| 81\n | \nPackagd\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \nSeptember 2019\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Marketplace\n | \n[98]\n |
| 82\n | \nBeat Games\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png\") Czech Republic, Prague\n | \nNovember 2019\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[99]\n |
| 83\n | \nPlayGiga\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/23px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png\") Spain, Madrid\n | \nDecember 2019\n | \n70,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[100][101]\n |
| 84\n | \nSanzaru Games\n | \n USA, Foster City, California\n | \nFebruary 2020\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[102]\n |
| 85\n | \nScape Technologies\n | \n UK, London\n | \nFebruary 2020\n | \n~40,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nReality Labs\n | \n[103]\n |
| 86\n | \nGiphy\n | \n USA, San Francisco, New York\n | \nMay 15, 2020\n | \n400,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nInstagram\n | \n[104][105]\n |
| 87\n | \nMapillary\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg/23px-Flag_of_Sweden.svg.png\") Sweden, Malm\u00f6\n | \nJune 18, 2020\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[106]\n |
| 88\n | \nReady at Dawn\n | \n USA, Irvine, California\n | \nJune 22, 2020\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[102]\n |
| 89\n | \nLemnis Technologies\n | \n![\"\"](\"//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Flag_of_Singapore.svg/23px-Flag_of_Singapore.svg.png\") Singapore, Singapore\n | \nSeptember 18, 2020\n | \nundisclosed\n | \nPierre-Yves Laffont\n | \n\u2014\n | \nReality Labs\n | \n[107]\n |
| 90\n | \nKustomer\n | \n USA, New York, New York\n | \nNovember 30, 2020\n | \n1,000,000,000\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[108]\n |
| 91\n | \nDownpour Interactive\n | \n USA, San Francisco, California\n | \nApril 30, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[109]\n |
| 92\n | \nUnit 2 Games\n | \n UK, Leamington Spa\n | \nJune 4, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nFacebook Gaming\n | \n\n [110]\n \n |
| 93\n | \nBigBox VR\n | \n USA, Seattle, Washington\n | \nJune 11, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n\n [111]\n \n |
| 94\n | \nAI.Reverie\n | \n USA, New York, NY, New York\n | \nOct 11, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[112]\n |
| 95\n | \nWithin\n | \n USA, Los Angeles, California\n | \nOct 29, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[113]\n |
| 96\n | \nTwisted Pixel Games\n | \n USA\n | \nNov 1, 2021\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[114]\n |
| 97\n | \nPresize\n | \n Germany, Munich\n | \nApril 8, 2022\n | \n~100,000,000\n | \nLeon Szeli, Tomislav Tomov\n | \nTechnical University Munich\n | \nFacebook Shops, Instagram Shopping\n | \n[115]\n |
| 98\n | \nLofelt\n | \n Germany, Berlin\n | \nSeptember 2022\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \n[116]\n |
| 99\n | \nArmature Studio\n | \n USA\n | \nOct 11, 2022\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[114]\n |
| 100\n | \nCamouflaj\n | \n USA\n | \nOct 11, 2022\n | \nundisclosed\n | \n\u2014\n | \n\u2014\n | \nOculus Studio\n | \n[114]\n |
![\"Insider](\"/public/assets/BI/US/logos/newsletters/insider-today-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
\n \n \n \n ![\"Bull\"](\"/public/assets/rebrand/newsletter-bull.png\")
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meta used to put its money towards fun things like employee perks, the metaverse, and acquisition binges. But as Meta's \"year of efficiency\" continues, Mark Zuckerberg needs to put its $40.74 billion cash pile to a more boring \u2014 but perhaps more practical \u2014 use: making shareholders happy.
Since 2012, Meta Platforms, formerly called Facebook, has acquired over 100 companies, including big names like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus. Those acquisitions helped Meta mushroom into the internet behemoth it is today.
The social networking giant's revenue has ballooned over the years from $5 billion in 2012 to $116 billion last year. As its revenue has grown, so too has its stockpiles of capital: In its February earnings report, Meta said that it had $40.74 billion in \"Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities\" as of December 31st, 2022.
But as Meta's revenue growth stalls out, its stock price struggles, and external pressures catch up to it, that money now has to go towards stock buybacks and other maneuvers that have more to do with its financial health and less to do with innovation.
Antitrust scrutiny continues to be a thorn in its side when it comes to acquisitions. Investors aren't interested in funding the metaverse push at the expense of profits. The economic environment remains uncertain; and the pandemic tech bubble has finally burst and shifted Meta's numbers towards pre-pandemic levels.
After peaking in 2021 during the height of the tech bubble, the company's stock has slid from nearly $400 per share to a little over $200, around the value it held pre-pandemic. To help soothe worries over its share price, the company announced earlier this year that it would purchase $40 billion worth of shares from investors. The idea would be to help prop up its value, while also making up for the bad timing of its recent stock buybacks.
UBS stock analyst Lloyd Walmsley told Insider that the \"buyback is a natural course\" for a company flush with a lot of cash, but that also has so much antitrust scrutiny that it would be especially difficult to make any huge acquisitions. Walmsley was referring to the Federal Trade Commission's skepticism of major tech mergers under the Biden administration.
Angelo Zino, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, agrees that he expects Meta to steer clear of any major acquisitions for a while, saying that \"the political landscape likely prevents Big Tech from getting bigger.\"
The FTC sued Meta last July over its acquisition of Within, a virtual reality fitness app, accusing Meta of buying up too many VR competitors and stifling competition in emerging markets. Despite a judge's approval of the deal in February, the suit has put a bit of fear in the industry as it helps to forge a path to more cases against Big Tech. Since Meta just settled with the FTC for $5 billion in 2019 over a separate matter, it's not looking to poke the bear.
Instead, the cash that might have ordinarily gone towards those kinds of big deals might go straight back to investors, to help renew its appeal to Wall Street.
\"We see a possibility that Meta could initiate a small dividend to attract a new class of investors,\" said Zino.
The moves to appease Wall Street might be well-timed, given the way that Wall Street has pressured Meta to cut costs, including via its major layoffs of the last several months.
In November, Meta started laying off 13% of the company, and in March announced another 10,000 would be given the boot. The metaverse, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's big bet for the future, used to have tens of billions of dollars pumped into it, helping finance acquisitions like that of Within.
But investors successfully compelled Meta to pull back on that too, especially after seeing Meta's free cash flow peak at $38.4 billion in 2021 and then drop to $18.4 billion at the end of 2022.
Ultimately, investors want to see Meta making smarter bets given the challenges facing its business.
\"Meta's revenue potential is likely to be most challenged among the mega cap tech names during uncertain macro times and competitive pressures,\" Zino wrote in a note to clients this week.
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