Facebook To Acquire WhatsApp
Most of us can just go ahead and download the WhatsApp app for free, but Mark Zuckerberg instead choose to buy the company for a reported $16 billion. After acquiring Instagram for a $1 billion two years ago, this latest move shows that Facebook is trying to stay at the top of the social network game and be the number one way to connect to people online.
Even though the popular messaging app is being acquired, it will retain its own brand and operate independently just like Instagram. WhatsApp has seen some huge growth with its message volume nearing the global telecom SMS volume, which is incredible for the start-up, which is only 5 years old. The company also has over 450 million users a month, with 70% of those users being online on any given day, and more than 1 million new users registering everyday. With this latest acquisition, it will be interesting to see how messaging services will evolve and its effects on mobile carriers. For more information on the acquisition, head on over to Facebook here.
[Via Facebook]