WhatsApp was the Bomb That Shook Silicon Valley this week. When Facebook paid $1bn for Instagram, people thought Mark Zuckerberg was off his rocker in spring 2012. The WhatsApp deal is no different, other than for its order of magnitude. Facebook has agreed to pay $19bn for the instant messaging platform, partly for access to its users, but mostly to ensure it doesn’t get hobbled by this very threatening competitor. Its Facebook’s quest for communication domination, too. You May Not Use WhatsApp, But the Rest of the World Sure Does. It is also reported that Google Was Willing to Beat Facebook’s $19B Offer for WhatsApp. That’s a good price ($16 billion in stock and cash, along with as much as $3 billion in restricted stock units for the founders) for a company that was founded in 2009 because neither of those big companies wanted to hire the company founder at the time (What an epic comeback).
Why WhatsApp is worth $19 billion? WhatsApp‘s usage statistics are astounding: It claims 450 million active users , 72% of whom use the service on a daily basis. WhatsApp has a strong presence internationally, particularly in Europe, India and Latin America. The number of messages that flow through its system is thought to be roughly equal to the total volume of SMS messages. It’s easy to see why both Facebook and Google would want WhatsApp. As the one of the largest SMS alternatives in the world, it’s a communications platform that could be useful to either company, and a liability in the hands of the other.
WhatsApp is also growing at a blinding speed, adding 1 million new users per day. At that rate, WhatsApp should hit 1 billion users sometime next year.With its $1 annual subscription fee, 1 billion users could translate into significant revenue for Facebook. At the current price and usage, Facebook paid about $45 per WhatsApp user. Maybe Mark Zuckerberg took a step closer to realizing a dream to bring the Internet to everyone on the planet with Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Wednesday. Next week, Koum will join Zuckerberg on stage at the annual Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss, among other things, how the two will unite to push the Internet.org project forward.
This $19bn is an a huge amount of money, so it might be a good idea to show how much money this really is. There are many examples posted to Internet, and they could be eye-opening. The $19 Billion Facebook Spent on WhatsApp Could Have Bought 76 Washington Posts article has a good set of comparison to prices of several big companies. Things that are cheaper than whatsapp page has a growing set of examples what are cheaper. For less money than $19 million dollars you could for example get a huge flight company, bought 20 major football clubs,build a huge aircraft carrier, buy the whole world music business, could have arranged London Olympics or buy a small country. You could also get Clear water for everybody in entire earth with less money.
21 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp Shows How Phone Carriers Lost Out on $33 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-21/whatsapp-shows-how-phone-carriers-lost-out-on-33-billion.html
Facebook Inc. (FB)’s $19 billion purchase of mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp Inc. is a stark reminder of how much money phone carriers are losing out on as competitors let users text and chat at no charge.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A New Glue For A New Kingdom
http://parislemon.com/post/77357979234/a-new-glue-for-a-new-kingdom
To me, the most exciting part of the Facebook/WhatsApp deal has nothing to do with the deal itself. Instead, I’m excited about the ramifications of such a deal.
Both understand that the Facebook/WhatsApp deal is simply the strongest signal yet that we’ve fully entered a new age in the world of computing where mobile is now the kingdom. And the $19 billion price tag simply shows that there isn’t yet a king.
Facebook was a king in the last kingdom, the Web. And while they seem to be transitioning fairly well over to this new kingdom (after stumbling badly out of the gate), the $19 billion figure shows that they’re well aware that not only are they not anointed yet, they’re just as likely to be overthrown.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Messaging Giant WhatsApp, Now With 465M Users, Will Add Voice Services In Q2 Of This Year
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/24/messaging-giant-whatsapp-with-465m-users-will-add-voice-services-in-q2-of-this-year/
Today Jan Koum, the CEO of WhatsApp — acquired by Facebook last week for $19 billion — delivered another news bomb on top of last week’s milestone: he announced that the messaging giant is finally moving into voice — a move announced at MWC, the conference for mobile carriers that apps like WhatsApp are squarely disrupting.
“We use the least amount of bandwidth and we use the hell out of it,” he said. “We will focus on simplicity.” Voice will come to Android and iOS first and then following on some Nokia and BlackBerry phones, he added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp: What’s that? College students say ‘whatever’ to Facebook’s new $19B app
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/college-students-whatsapp/
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp founder: Believe us, internet! ‘Twas a DODGY network router WOT DONE IT
Says soz for weekend outage
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/24/whatsapp_outage_apology/
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum has said that a network router caused the outage of the messaging service this weekend, just a few days after it was acquired by Facebook.
The timing of the outage was pretty unfortunate for new owner Mark Zuckerberg
Tomi Engdahl says:
Don’t Expect Facebook’s WhatsApp to Make Any Real Money for Years
http://recode.net/2014/02/24/dont-expect-facebooks-whatsapp-to-make-any-real-money-for-years/
Facebook paid a lot of money for WhatsApp. It wasn’t because of what’s in the company’s coffers — at least, not right now.
But it is, however, about the numbers. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg conceded that buying the mobile messaging company for such a large price was more about its staggering user growth numbers and potential for expansion than WhatsApp’s immediate capacity for making money.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp backlash drives 5 million users to a Russian rival app… in one day
http://bgr.com/2014/02/24/whatsapp-facebook-merger-backlash/
Telegram Messenger is the blockbuster app of the moment as backlash against the Facebook-WhatsApp merger gathers steam. Anti-WhatsApp sentiment has helped the obscure Russian app to become a top 5 iPhone download in 64 countries as WhatsApp slips. In the classic messaging app bellwether market of Spain, WhatsApp has dropped to No. 20 on the iPhone download chart as Telegram has soared to No. 1
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp Is Actually Worth More Than $19B, Says Facebook’s Zuckerberg, And It Was Internet.org That Sealed The Deal
Posted Feb 24, 2014 by Ingrid Lunden (@ingridlunden)
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/24/whatsapp-is-actually-worth-more-than-19b-says-facebooks-zuckerberg/?source=gravity
More than a few people were surprised when Facebook said it would pay $19 billion for messaging app startup WhatsApp, but today Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he believed it was actually worth more.
“If we can do a good job with WhatsApp [and] grow it, it will be a huge business,” he said today during a keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
“Why were we excited to do this together? It was the Internet.org vision and how we can connect the world,” Zuckerberg said. While Koum and WhatsApp also seemed to have had the same philanthropic motivation behind their world communications domination ambition, it would have not been possible for them to execute on it as easily as they will with Facebook.
“If they did this as an independent company they would have had to focus on how to build the company out, to scale it, but now they can focus on how to connect the one to two billion people.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google’s Eric Schmidt: ‘let us celebrate capitalism’
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/7/5481748/eric-schmidt-sxsw-let-us-celebrate-capitalism
When Levy noted that fast-growing “gazelles” seem to lead to more inequality, at least in the case of the 50-employee WhatsApp which was acquired by Facebook for a reported $19 billion, Schmidt brushed aside the apparent contradiction. “Let us celebrate capitalism,” he said, opening his arms. “$19 billion for 50 people? Good for them.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hacker Claims This Crucial WhatsApp Flaw Can Expose Your Messages in Minutes
http://www.businessinsider.com/crucial-whatsapp-security-issue-2014-3?op=1
WhatsApp users should be careful when downloading Android apps. If you don’t read an app’s permissions attentively before installing, your WhatsApp chat history could end up in a stranger’s hands
Since WhatsApp backs up messages on your phone’s SD card, apps can easily access this information if granted permission to do so.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft was ‘willing’ to buy WhatsApp says Bill Gates
Founder also feels core Microsoft products need ‘more than a tuneup’ for the cloud
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/14/microsoft_was_willing_to_buy_whatsapp_says_bill_gates/
Microsoft was “willing” to buy WhatsApp, Bill Gates has told Rolling Stone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook Buys Oculus VR For $2 Billion
http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-to-buy-oculus-rift-for-2-billion-2014-3
Facebook is buying Oculus VR, a startup that makes virtual reality headsets, in a $2 billion deal.
Console gaming companies have sensed the threat of Oculus
According to a statement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the company plans to expand Oculus beyond gaming
Zuckerberg expanded on that in a conference call following the announcement, saying he believes virtual reality will be the next big computing platform after mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WhatsApp hits new record after handling 64 billion messages in one day
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/04/02/whatsapp-hits-new-record-handling-64-billion-messages-one-day/
As further proof of how WhatsApp remains the world’s most popular messaging app, it revealed today that it has hit a new record after processing 64 billion messages in just 24 hours.
It seems like WhatsApp is keen to put those concerns to rest by announcing this new record. Less than a year ago, WhatsApp was processing 27 billion messages a day.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s up, Zuck? Facebook asks Brussels to probe its GIGANTIC WhatsApp deal
Free content ad network hopes to swerve national watchdogs
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/28/facebook_asks_brussels_to_probe_its_gigantic_whatsapp_deal/
Facebook has asked the competition wing of the European Commission to probe its $19bn buyout of WhatsApp in a move to apparently nullify a host of investigations being sparked in multiple EU nations.
The newspaper noted that European telcos have already begun to complain about the merger by arguing that the Mark Zuckerberg-run free content ad network could gift itself with a dominant market position for instant messaging in the EU.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook to win EU approval for $19 billion WhatsApp bid: sources
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/25/us-whatsapp-m-a-facebook-eu-exclusive-idUSKCN0HK1FV20140925
Facebook (FB.O), the world’s leading social network, will win unconditional EU approval for its $19 billion offer for mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal pitting it against telecoms operators, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
A plan by WhatsApp to add free voice-call services for its 450 million customers later this year, however, makes it a potentially powerful competitor to companies such as Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica (TEF.MC).
Analysts said the move is likely to hit telecoms providers’ turnover as the industry heads into its fifth year of revenue decline. The sector had looked to EU regulators to extract concessions from Facebook.
“It’s unconditional clearance,” one of the people said, declining to be named because the decision by the European Commission was not yet public.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Facebook’s WhatsApp acquisition now has price tag of $22 billion
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/06/us-facebook-whatsapp-idUSKCN0HV1Q820141006
(Reuters) – Facebook Inc (FB.O) closed its acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp on Monday, with the final price tag rising an additional $3 billion to roughly $22 billion because of the increased value of Facebook’s stock in recent months.
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum will receive nearly $2 billion in stock, vesting over a four-year period, as an inducement for him to stay with the company, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
The acquisition, which Facebook announced in February and recently received regulatory approval in Europe, underscores the sky-rocketing values of fast-growing Internet startups, and the willingness of established players such as Facebook and Google Inc (GOOGL.O)(GOOG.O) to pay out for them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The popular IM client WhatsApp has until now been available only smartphone. AndroidWorld site, digging for information, application may be made available as soon as the browser version.
Exclusief: WhatsApp Web, webversie in code gespot [screenshot]
http://androidworld.nl/apps/whatsapp-web/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tech More: WhatsApp Facebook
WhatsApp’s Insane Growth Continues: 100 Million New Users in 4 Months
http://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-passes-700-million-2015-1
Just a little over four months ago, in late August, WhatsApp announced that it surpassed 600 million monthly active users.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-passes-700-million-2015-1#ixzz3O8Pau3wZ
Johnnie says:
Can also buy a bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse for all Facebook employees
Enough to Finance 6 Annual budgets of Detroit city
Purchased the entire Facebook initial public offering
Enough to build 4 times of the World Trade Center… Lol
Thanks for sharing
Tomi Engdahl says:
Deepa Seetharaman / Wall Street Journal:
WhatsApp hits 800M monthly active users, stays on pace to reach 1B users by year’s end
WhatsApp Hits 800 Million Users — 1 Billion by Year-End?
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/04/17/whatsapp-hits-800000-users-1-billion-by-year-end/
Tomi Engdahl says:
There goes operators’ gold mine – one company grabbed almost the entire business
Telecom operators are left with nothing when the rear in the lucrative text messaging have been replaced by instant messaging applications.
Instant Messaging Applications popularity has grown at a pace that does not seem to wane. On Thursday, WhatsApp announced that its messaging application used at present 900 million people every month.
WhatsApp exceeded 800 million active user mark in April. The service is therefore likely to exceed one billion user mark later this year.
Billion milestone has already exceeded its own way, as Whatsapp is loaded with Android phones, more than one billion times.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/sinne-meni-operaattoreiden-kultakaivos-yksi-yritys-kahmaisi-lahes-koko-bisneksen-3482161