How many acquisitions is Facebook pushing under the hood to build the Metaverse?

2021 October 29, Facebook is 'from social media companies metaverse its name and declared to be a company' to 'Meta' change was. News media Vox explains the 'acquisition' behind the transformation of a giant tech giant.

Facebook is spending billions to buy up the metaverse --Vox
https://www.vox.com/recode/22776461/facebook-meta-metaverse-monopoly

On October 29, 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would change the company name to 'Meta' at the company's conference event 'Connect 2021'. Facebook is one of the world's leading SNSs with monthly active users reaching 3 billion, but based on the idea that 'the next stage of the Internet will be the metaverse', we have launched a bold rebranding strategy to change the company name. rice field.

Facebook announces that company name will be changed to 'Meta' --GIGAZINE

This time, news media Vox is explaining about the 'metaverse-related acquisition' that Facebook is quietly pushing forward. Facebook is a company that has expanded its power through strategic acquisitions, such as the acquisition of Instagram in 2012, WhatsApp acquisition in 2014, and Oculus acquisition. According to investment analytics firm Pitchbook, Facebook has acquired 21 companies since 2019.

Metaverse-related companies are the most recently acquired companies by Facebook. BigBox that develops VR battle royal game ' POPULATION: ONE ', Unit 2 Games of cooperative game creation platform ' Crayta ', Beat Games of VR rhythm game ' Beat Saber ', Within of VR fitness service ' Supernatural ', cooperative VR Facebook is getting Beat Saber related companies one after another, such as Downpour Interactive of the affiliated FPS ' Onward'.

Vox points out that Facebook faces antitrust issues in connection with these takeovers. As mentioned above, Facebook is an IT company that is said to have reached one of the best positions in the United States through strategic acquisitions, but in August 2021, the Federal Trade Commission of the United States said that the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp violates antitrust law. Submit a second complaint. In October 2021, the British authorities were fined about 8 billion yen for 'refusing to submit the information necessary for the examination to check for competitive problems.'

The Federal Trade Commission amends and resubmits the once-rejected complaint that Facebook's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp violates antitrust law-GIGAZINE

In response to the question of whether Facebook is making acquisitions to eliminate future competitors, a Facebook representative said, 'Unlike the social network business industry 10 years ago, Facebook is in areas such as VR and AR. We're not leading, and as Zuckerberg himself points out, Facebook envisions a future where it wants to be one of the few companies that offer metaverse. '' Consumers Investing and building the product you are looking for is the key to success. It is not possible for us to build a metaverse on our own, and collaboration with developers, creators and experts is important. When investing in metaverse, Microsoft and Google We are aware that we will face fierce competition with Apple, Snapchat, Sony, Roblox, Epic Games and other companies. '

Facebook has denied strategic takeovers, but regulators have indicated that they intend to extend the investigation to smaller, not just larger ones. The Federal Trade Commission in 2021 September of the acquisitions, such as Facebook and Google has done in the past 10 years, again the results of the analysis on the 919 items was small enough to not be the target of the investigation announcement . In the announcement, the Commission's Secretary of State Rebecca Slaughter said, 'While individual acquisitions do not seem to have a significant impact on their own, the combined impact of hundreds of small acquisitions leads to a monopoly. It's possible, 'he said, suggesting that small-scale acquisitions, such as Facebook's push for the Metaverse, could also fall under antitrust law.