WhatsApp messenger service

WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, former employees of Yahoo!. The application was originally developed in California, USA, with a focus on creating a simple, cross-platform messaging service that bypassed SMS fees. The service's rapid growth caught the attention of Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.), which acquired the company in February 2014 for approximately $19 billion.

As a digital product, 'manufacturing' refers to its software development and data hosting locations. While the code is primarily developed in the United States, WhatsApp utilizes Meta’s global network of data centers. Today, it stands as one of the world's most popular communication tools, owned and managed by Meta Platforms, headquartered in Menlo Park, California.