When was WhatsApp founded?

WhatsApp was founded in 2009 and raised its 1st funding round within a year of its incorporation.

Where is WhatsApp located?

WhatsApp is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States.

Who is the current CEO of WhatsApp?

Jan Koum of WhatsApp. They are also an angel investors in 1 startup.

How many employees does WhatsApp have?

As of Aug 31, 2026, the latest employee count at WhatsApp is 5959.

Is WhatsApp a funded company?

WhatsApp is a funded company, having raised a total of $58.2M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $250K Seed round, raised on Oct 2009.

How much is WhatsApp worth?

The last known valuation of WhatsApp was $19B as of Apr 29, 2016.

When was the latest funding round of WhatsApp?

WhatsApp's latest funding was a $50M Series C round on Jun 30, 2013, with participation from 1 investor.

Is WhatsApp a Communication Apps company?

The primary sector of WhatsApp is Communication Apps.

Where does WhatsApp rank among its competitors?

WhatsApp ranks 1st amongst 460 active competitors, of which 22 are funded. It stands 3rd in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Blackberry, which secured an undisclosed amount in Nov, 2020.

Who are the top competitors of WhatsApp?

WhatsApp's top competitors include Snapchat, imo and Kik. Among them, Blackberry secured the most recent funding round in November, 2020.

WhatsApp - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Q: Is WhatsApp an acquired company?

WhatsApp got acquired by Facebook on Feb 19, 2014.

Sectors and market segments that WhatsApp operate in

WhatsApp serves in the Mobile market segments.The primary business model of WhatsApp is:

Mobile > Communication Apps > ***** **** > ***** ******

Company Details

Private messaging platform. The features of the product include real-time messaging, video calling, audio calling, file sharing, photo sharing, and others. It uses end-to-end encryption for secure messaging. Its mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Website: www.whatsapp.com/
Social
Part Of

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2009

Location

Menlo Park, United States

Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$58.2M in 3 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series C, Jun 30, 2013, $50M

Last Known Valuation

$19B as on Apr 29, 2016

Investors

Sequoia Capital & 1 more

Ranked

1^st among 460 active competitors

Employee Count

5,959 as on Aug 31, 2026

Investment & Acquisitions

ppTVR & 5 more

Similar Companies

imo & 429 more

Exit Details

Acquired by Facebook (Feb 19, 2014)

View WhatsApp's full profile

WhatsApp is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
WHATSAPP APPLICATION SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED CIN: U72900TG2017FTC120337 , India, Active	Oct 31, 2017	₹50 - ₹100 Cr (As on Mar 31, 2025)	-
WHAT'S APP INC. CIN: 264763400 , United States, Active	Dec 31, 1999	-	98 (As on Dec 31, 2015)	-

WhatsApp got acquired by Facebook on Feb 19, 2014 at an acquisition amount of $*****.

Click here to take a look at WhatsApp's acquisition in detail

WhatsApp has raised a total funding of $58.2M over 3 rounds. Its first funding round was on Oct 2009. Its latest funding round was a Series C round on Jun 30, 2013 for $50M. 1 investor participated in its latest round. WhatsApp has 2 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of WhatsApp:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jun 30, 2013	$50M	Series C	-	-	Sequoia Capital	-
Apr 08, 2011	$8M	Series A	-	-	Sequoia Capital	-
Oct 2009	$250K	Seed	-	-	-	-

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View details of WhatsApp's funding rounds and investors

The founders of WhatsApp are Brian Acton, Jan Koum, Abhishek Rai and Magieda Abaza.

Here are the details of WhatsApp's key team members:

Brian Acton: Former Co-Founder of WhatsApp and founder of 2 other companies, Signal and wa.me. They are also an angel investor in 3 startups.
Jan Koum: Former Co-Founder & CEO of WhatsApp and founder of 1 other company. They are also an angel investor in 1 startup.
Abhishek Rai: Co-founder and admin of WhatsApp.
Magieda Abaza: Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of WhatsApp.

View details of WhatsApp's Founder profiles and Board Members

WhatsApp's employee count trend

WhatsApp has 5,959 employees as of Aug 26. Here is WhatsApp's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of WhatsApp include Snapchat, imo and Kik. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of WhatsApp, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	WhatsApp 2009, Menlo Park (United States), Acquired	Private messaging platform	$58.2M	Sequoia Capital, Dragon Gateway	83/100
2nd	Snapchat 2011, Los Angeles (United States), Public	Provider of multimedia messaging application	$2.62B	Benchmark, Kleiner Perkins & 61 others	82/100
3rd	imo 2005, Palo Alto (United States), Series B	Mobile application for video and audio calling	$23.5M	-	71/100
4th	Kik 2009, Santa Monica (United States), Acquired	Multimedia messaging app	$166M	Foundation Capital, Spark Capital & 16 others	71/100
5th	Signal 2018, Mountain View (United States), Seed	Provider of a platform for secure messaging	$50M	-	70/100
6th	Blackberry 1984, Waterloo (Canada), Public	Developer of secure communication software and embedded operating systems	-	27th Street Capital, RAA Capital & 2 others	66/100
7th	Messenger 2011, Palo Alto (United States), Acquired	Online messaging and calling app	-	Boost VC, Europa	64/100
8th	WeChat 2011, Shenzhen (China), Unfunded	Provider of vernacular-based text and voice messaging applications	-	-	63/100
9th	Arattai 2021, Chengalpattu (India), Unfunded	Mobile app for secure messaging	-	-	61/100
10th	LINE 2000, Shinjuku City (Japan), Public	Messaging app with voice calls	-	SJL Partners	60/100