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Acquired · Meta · Numbers

Numbers

Every reported figure in the Meta file, each carrying its source line and the date the figure was captured. Hover any evidence bullet for the citation link.

5 figures5 sources0 current or recent

Reported figures

Daily active people (2024 Q3)

2 yr

~3.3B

across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger — more than 40% of humanity using at least one Meta product daily

[Meta Q3 2024 earnings] · as of 2024-09

Total revenue (2024)

2 yr

~$165B

~99% from advertising; Meta is the second-largest digital ad platform after Google

[Meta FY2024 earnings] · as of 2024-12

Instagram acquisition

14 yr

$1B

April 2012; 13 employees; the most criticized acquisition in tech at the time; now worth an estimated $100B+

[Acquired Meta episode] · as of 2012-04

  • David:Instagram had 13 employees and was 18 months old. Facebook paid $1 billion. Everyone said Zuckerberg had lost his mind. It was not obvious that this was the right call. Until it was completely obvious.
    [Acquired Meta, ch. The Instagram acquisition]

WhatsApp acquisition

12 yr

$19B

February 2014; 55 employees; the largest venture-backed acquisition to that date; ~2B users today

[Acquired Meta episode] · as of 2014-02

Reality Labs cumulative losses (2020-2024)

3 yr

~$60B

the long-horizon VR/AR bet that Zuckerberg's voting control makes possible; a public board would have ended it

[Meta disclosures 2020-2024] · as of 2024

Freshness

0

Current (≤6 mo)

0

Recent (≤18 mo)

5

Older

Most figures here are 18 months or older — useful for the structural read but verify before quoting in real-time analysis.

Every figure here cites its source. See the sources tab for the aggregated footnote list and which citations back more than one claim.