Rakuten acquired Viber in 2014 for about $900 million.
Viber was launched in 2010 as a mobile application for voice calls and messaging over the internet. It was founded by Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinnik, and its international calling and messaging features helped it attract users across many countries, especially where cross-border communication was important.
Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce and internet-services company founded by Hiroshi Mikitani, announced the acquisition in February 2014. Rakuten viewed Viber as a way to expand its global digital-services ecosystem and reach a large mobile audience. Viber remained a separate consumer brand after the purchase.
A common mix-up is with LINE, another major Asian messaging service. Rakuten bought Viber, while LINE was associated with the South Korean internet company Naver before later corporate changes. The two apps competed in overlapping markets but were separate businesses.