According to Digital Trends, Google is reportedly negotiating to acquire Whatsapp for $1bn. WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform instant messaging application for smartphones. In addition to text messaging, users can send each other images, video, and audio media messages.
Why should Google be interested in Whatsapp? Well, see for yourself:-
- WhatsApp is consistently the number one paid app in more than 100 countries with an enviable user base size spread throughout more than 100 countries and 750 mobile networks. To give you an idea about WhatsApp’s scale, on New Years Eve 2012 alone WhatsApp saw a record 18 billion messages processed in a day.
- WhatsApp has a proven monetization scheme. Its yearly but nominal $0.99 subscription fee keeps the service ad-free. Behind the scenes however, WhatsApp also generates revenue through profitable partnerships with international telecommunications companies. For instance, it just signed an agreement with Airtel in Nigeria to provide Whatsapp for N100 per month.
- If Google wants to be taken seriously in the mobile space, it’ll need a product like WhatsApp.
Well, time will tell whether this will really happen.
