Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by srtjstjsj 3170 days ago
or FB bought Whatsapp as insurance against competition. If an independent Whatsapp can make $1 for ever $10 they make Facebook lose, FB would value Whatsapp 10x what investors would, but not because of "vision"
1 comments

Exactly. And WhatsApp was way ahead in striking preferred access deals with telecoms in the developing world. Facebook was able to piggyback on those, and develop it into the internet.org initiative to try to create a beachhead in these markets that it had less traction in.