Who owns WhatsApp and Viber - briefly?
Facebook Inc. owns WhatsApp. The company acquired the messaging platform in 2014 for $19 billion. Viber is owned by Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce and Internet company, which purchased it in 2019 for $900 million.
Who owns WhatsApp and Viber - in detail?
Who owns WhatsApp and Viber?
WhatsApp is a popular messaging application that was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, both former employees of Yahoo! In February 2014, Facebook, Inc., the social media giant led by Mark Zuckerberg, acquired WhatsApp for approximately $19 billion. This acquisition significantly expanded Facebook's reach into mobile messaging and communication services.
Viber, another widely used messaging platform, was founded in 2010 by Israeli entrepreneurs Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinik. Initially developed as a Voice over IP (VoIP) service, Viber quickly grew to include text, image, and video messaging capabilities. In February 2014, just days after the WhatsApp acquisition, Rakuten, Inc., a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company, purchased Viber for $900 million. This strategic move allowed Rakuten to strengthen its position in the global communications market.
Both acquisitions reflect the growing importance of messaging platforms in the digital landscape and the high value that major technology companies place on these services.