How Many Employees Did WhatsApp Have When Acquired?

When Facebook acquired WhatsApp for an incredible $19 billion in February 2014, it was one of the largest acquisitions in history.

WhatsApp was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009 and had grown to have over 400 million users worldwide by the time of its acquisition. It was an impressive feat considering that Koum and Acton had only started the company four years earlier with just 55 employees.

The company’s growth can be attributed largely to its focus on simplicity and its commitment to privacy. WhatsApp offered a straightforward messaging platform that allowed users to exchange messages without having to worry about their information being shared or used for advertising purposes.

WhatsApp also benefitted from an aggressive expansion strategy that saw the company quickly expand into new markets such as India and Latin America. This saw WhatsApp’s user base grow exponentially, reaching over 800 million users by the end of 2014.

At the time of its acquisition, WhatsApp had over 450 employees spread across offices in San Francisco, Mountain View, London, Moscow, Seoul and Bangalore.

Conclusion:
When Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, it had over 450 employees spread across offices in multiple locations around the world. This is a testament to how quickly WhatsApp grew from 55 employees when it first started up in 2009.