The digital media giant Facebook is growing and expanding every year with its social network spreading worldwide as new technologies emerge. The company started acquisition in 2005 and has since then spent more than $23 billion on acquiring many tech, app, and software companies. While the majority of these Facebook acquisitions remain undisclosed to the public, there are a few popular companies that the public knows are associated with Facebook.
Who is Facebook’s Owner?
Mark Zuckerberg founded the company and the CEO when it was a private company. Facebook expanded and became too big with many shareholders to continue as a private company so in 2012 it became a publicly traded company priced at a value of $104 billion, the largest valuation of an American company then.
How many companies does Facebook actually own?
The clear answer to it is- no one knows. The correct number is locked in a closet as the company refuses to disclose its acquisitions. The number is definitely higher than the mentioned 78 companies they have acquired in the last 15 years. They made their first major purchase on Aug. 23, 2005. They paid $200,000 to buy the Facebook.com domain name. Their original domain name was Thefacebook.com. 27 acquisition deals details are disclosed in the public out of the 78 companies Facebook has acquired. Total worth of these 27 deals is more than $23.
The Popular Companies Owned by Facebook
The top and popular sister sites of Facebook are Instagram ($1 billion), WhatsApp ($19 billion), Oculus VR ($2 billion), com (undisclosed sum), LiveRail ($500 million), Threadsy (undisclosed sum), CRTL-labs (between $500 million and $1 billion), Onavo (between $100 million and $200 million), tbh (less than $100 million), Redkix (less than $100 million), Parse ($85 million), and Atlas Solutions (between $50 million and $100 million).
Facebook has clearly and majorly invested in companies associated with mobile commerce, enhanced communication, photo and video sharing, mobile games, and sports analytics. But there are some acquisitions Facebook has made that have surprised people in the marketplace like purchasing an emotion detection app, facial recognition software, and a solar-powered drone maker. They are heavily focusing on purchasing companies working with artificial intelligence or virtual reality technology. The emphasis is on buying new technologies to advance Facebook beyond being only a social media network that allows photos, videos, sharing.
Instagram Has Been Acquired By Facebook
One of the most popular purchases of Facebook happened on April 9, 2012, for $1 billion, when they acquired Instagram. At the time it was Facebook’s largest acquisition and is still talked about as one of the best business acquisitions in Silicon Valley history. Photo Sharing app – Instagram had only 30 million users and no revenue when Facebook acquired it.
Currently, 500 million people worldwide are using the app everyday. In 2018, Instagram contributed $8-9 billion to Facebook’s revenue. The app is one of the most popular apps around the world with billions of account holders.