Is WhatsApp, Facebook’s Biggest Acquisition, Paying Off A Decade Later?

Facebook, now called Meta, acquired WhatsApp for a historic $19 billion in 2014. Today, over half of the world’s internet users also use WhatsApp, but the free messaging service has never generated much revenue. Now though, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that he views WhatsApp as Meta’s “next chapter” when it comes to monetization. CNBC spoke with WhatsApp Head of Product Alice Newton-Rex, who said that WhatsApp’s emerging business messaging services will drive revenue growth, as companies pay a fee to interact with customers on the platform. But it remains to be seen whether business messaging through WhatsApp will take off, as the current market is dominated by regular SMS messaging. And that future is especially unclear in the U.S., where WhatsApp has struggled to gain traction. Chapters: 00:00 — Introduction 01:57 — History of WhatsApp 04:55 — Monetization 08:00 — What’s next Produced and Shot by: Katie Brigham Edited by: Nic Golden Henry Additional Reporting: Jonathan Vanian Additional Camera: Sydney Boyo, Andrew Evers Graphics: Jason Reginato Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt Additional Footage: WhatsApp, Meta, Lauren Choo, Getty Images