Which messaging app was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014? WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for approximately $19 billion in 2014. The deal, announced in February 2014, combined cash, Facebook shares, and restricted stock units for WhatsApp employees.
WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by former Yahoo employees Jan Koum and Brian Acton. It began as a simple status-updating application before developing into an internet-based messaging service for sending text messages, photos, videos, voice messages, and group chats. Its phone-number-based design helped it spread rapidly across countries where traditional SMS was expensive.
The final value was often reported as $19 billion, though the stock portion meant the effective value could fluctuate. Facebook said WhatsApp would continue operating as a separate service, and Koum remained involved after the acquisition. The app later became part of Facebook’s broader corporate family, now known as Meta.
A common mix-up is confusing the deal with Facebook’s purchase of Instagram, which was announced in 2012 for about $1 billion. Signal, Telegram, and Snapchat were not the messaging service acquired in this transaction.