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However, similar apps, such as China’s WeChat and Japan’s Line prove that it is possible. The task of monetising a messaging app is harder than most other tech ventures.
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He is tasked with turning WhatsApp’s growing army of users into cash. However, Facebook’s Matt Idema has been named as the service’s COO. Yet, Mark Zuckerberg wouldn’t have parted with $4 billion in cash and $15 billion in stock if he didn’t feel that WhatsApp had the potential to make money. A $0.99 annual charge failed and Facebook thinks that ads would harm the ‘intimate nature’ of WhatsApp. While the service was popular, there were few ways to monetise it without harming user experience. The deal was the second biggest tech takeover in history, despite the small fact that WhatsApp had failed to turn a profit since its 2009 release.Īt the time, many felt that Facebook had paid too much. A year later, social media giants Facebook paid $19 billion to buy the popular chat service.
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Investors valued WhatsApp at $1.5 billion in 2013. Many felt that Facebook overpaid to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, but the current WhatsApp net worth suggests otherwise.
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