This is how founders of WhatsApp got the idea to start the messaging service

Few of the greatest of products in the world were discovered to solve simplest of the problems. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum reveals what got him the idea to start the world’s most popular instant messaging service

The problem that Jon Koum missed calls when he was at the gym got him the idea to found WhatsApp, the co-founder and CEO of the Facebook-owned company said on Wednesday.

Talking to an audience of several hundred Silicon Valley veterans gathered for an event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, Koum said that he was annoyed that he was missing lot of calls when he was at the gym. "It started with me buying an iPhone," he said.

He along with Brian Acton in 2009 decided to solve the problem by building an app which would let their friends know if they are available or occupied with something. And, the weapon in WhatsApp’s armour was ‘status’—an easy-to-use feature.

"We didn't set out to build a company. We just wanted to build a product that people used," CNBC quoted Koum.

The app, however, was not an overnight success despite being accepted into Apple’s Play store. "We were so excited when it launched. And, so disappointed when no one used it," he said.

Fortunes changed quickly and by 2014 the app had more than 400 million users thanks to its clutter free and no-nonsense design.

In the same year, Facebook bought the company in a record USD 19 billion deal which made both co-founders overnight
billionaires.

When asked what was the most he remembered about the deal, Koum said that even though it’s blurry he could recall sitting in the room with lawyers. "It was all a blur. I don't remember any of that except being in a room with lawyers for three days straight," he said.

When CNBC asked what it was like since Acton left the company last year, Koum answered, "We miss Brian."

Currently, WhatsApp has more than 1.3 billion users across geographies, second only to its owner Facebook which has over 2 billion users in social media space.

Comments

Renders of the Lenovo Z5 show the front-facing camera

Surprisingly, this time around the latest Lenovo Z5 info comes from a leak and not from the company's VP. All the information we have on the device so far was officially teased from the Lenovo's official, but now something extra has slipped through the cracks. The renders show the promised nearly bezel-less display with a small chin on the bottom. This is in line with the previous teasers showing nothing but screen and thankfully no notch. They also reveal how Lenovo has tackled the front-facing camera and the accompanying sensors problem. Lenovo Z5 press renders Just like the Xiaomi Mi Mix , the upcoming Lenovo Z5 will incorporate the front-facing camera, the ambient sensor, and probably the proximity sensor, on the chin. The earpiece is missing, obviously, so we suspect some kind of tech similar to the one driving the Mi Mix with the vibrating screen replacing the speaker.

Xiaomi Mi 9 could be first smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150: Report

Xiaomi’ s flagship device for 2019, dubbed Mi 9, could be world’s first smartphone to come with Qualcomm’s yet-to-launch Snapdragon 8150 chipset. According to GizChina, sources in supply chain have suggested that the Mi 9 will be released in the first half of 2019, which will be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150 processor. To note here, Qualcomm is currently developing Snapdragon 8150, and there is no exact information on its release. It is rumored that the single-chip Snapdragon 8150 architecture might be similar to Kirin 980. The upcoming mobile SoC is said to be on 7 nanometer process, and TSMC will be manufacturing it. Also, it will boast a separate neural processor for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. A recent Geekbench listing revealed that Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150 will have 1.78GHz base frequency with single-core performance core of 3,697, and 10,469 multi-core performance. It is rumored that Qualcomm will be changing the naming convention for it...

Google promises ethical principles to guide development of military AI

The company says the guidelines will include a ban on the development of AI weaponry Google is drawing up a set of guidelines that will steer its involvement in developing AI tools for the military, according to reports from The New York Times and Defense One . What exactly these guidelines will stipulate isn’t clear, but Google told the Times they will include a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in weaponry. The principles are expected to be announced in full in the coming weeks. They are a response to the controversy over the company’s decision to develop AI tools for the Pentagon that analyze drone surveillance footage. A Althoughtech companies regularly bid for contracts in the US defense sector, the involvement of Google (a company that once boasted the motto “don’t be evil”) and cutting-edge AI tech has raised eyebrows — both inside and outside the firm. News of the Pentagon contract was first made public by Gizmodo in ...

Vc Tech

Search This Blog