WhatsApp is an end-to-end encrypted mobile messaging app that lets users send messages free of charge. Acquired by Facebook in 2014, more than 2 billion people in over 180 countries now use WhatsApp to stay in touch.
Why we invested
We believed there was an opportunity for an independent, mobile-focused upstart to challenge the status quo of SMS messaging on the back of rising smartphone adoption. Jan and Brian had built WhatsApp to be a clean, no-nonsense messaging platform. Loved by those who adopted it, we were astonished by how rapidly it scaled with no marketing spend. It was simple and it worked.