Viber messaging app acquired by Japans Rakuten for $900 million

Viber is one of only a few messaging apps that’s truly cross-platform. While WhatsApp supports a variety of mobile platforms, the company has no intentions of bridging the gap to desktop computers and building apps for PCs or Macs. However, the real competition for Japanese company Rakuten might be in its home country. Line, a messaging app popular in Asia, has doubled its user base to 350 million over the past year, and counts 50 million users in Japan alone. Viber’s popularity in the US, Australia, Russia, and Middle East, will help Rakuten globally, but Asian markets continue to grow thanks to the popularity of chat apps with games and stickers.

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