Meta’s new Ballsbridge campus. Image: Naoise Culhane
Located in Ballsbridge, the new campus comes as the Facebook parent celebrated a highly profitable quarter in its latest earnings report published this week.
Meta has opened a new campus in Ballsbridge, Dublin, that will serve as its international headquarters.
The Facebook parent company has more than 2,000 full-time employees in Ireland, working across its sites in Dublin, Meath and Cork. The site in Clonee, Meath is a data centre while Cork is home to the Meta Reality Labs, a research hub for virtual and augmented reality technologies.
“It’s been a challenging year, but today’s formal opening of our international headquarters in Dublin marks the start of a new phase for Meta in Ireland,” said Anne O’Leary, who was appointed as head of Meta Ireland earlier this year, at the opening ceremony today (26 October).
Meta opened its first Irish office back in 2009, when it was known as Facebook, with a team of just 25 people. Since then, the social media giant that runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has come a long way in its Irish operations.
“With over 2,000 employees across 80 teams in three Irish locations, our operations continue to play an important role for Meta, both in Ireland and globally, as we build the future through AI and immersive technologies,” O’Leary went on.
“Our new campus is open, bright and busy with an incredibly welcoming community. It’s designed so that employees can prioritise time together to foster a vibrant culture, healthy relationships and strong collaboration so they can do their best work.”
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, TD said Ireland has played “an important role” in the company’s growth and success since 2009. “On behalf of the Government and IDA Ireland, I wish Meta’s team every success in its new home in Dublin,” he said.
The opening of the new Meta Ballsbridge campus coincides with the company’s latest earnings report, where the company’s revenue for the quarter ended 30 September was more than $34.1bn, a 23pc increase compared to the same period last year. Net income rose by 164pc, reaching $11.58bn.
This is in stark contrast to the same period last year, when Meta saw its net profits plummet by more than half in the third quarter.
“We had a good quarter for our community and business,” Zuckerberg said about the latest earnings. “I’m proud of the work our teams have done to advance AI and mixed reality with the launch of Quest 3, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and our AI studio.”
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