WhatsApp was born in 2009 by two former Yahoo employees, Jan Koum and Brian Acton. The question is, where is Jan Koum now? He has not appeared in public for a long time.
It is natural that Acton talks a lot because he is now busy growing Signal, WhatsApp's competitor. Some time ago, he also mentioned that WhatsApp has become a memory for him.
"I'm a parent and at a certain point, your kids grow up and go out, and they do things that you like and things that you don't like. You have to accept that. I think that's my position with WhatsApp," said Acton in an interview with Forbes.
"That was a wonderful experience with WhatsApp. But I have moved on in my life and for me, Signal is not just a passion but a full time job," he continued.
As for Koum, he followed in Acton's footsteps by leaving Facebook in 2018. "I take time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, like collecting rare Porsches, tinkering with cars and playing frisbee. And I'll still cheer for WhatsApp , from the outside," was his parting message.
Since his retirement, Koum seems to have isolated himself and rarely speaks to the media. His figure is rarely recorded on camera, only a few news about his activities appear, especially when it comes to buying a house or a luxury car.
For example, in 2020, Jan Koum alone bought a super luxury house for USD 125 million in cash. The house is located in the elite area of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
Koum's luxury houses are known to be scattered everywhere. His main residence is in Atherton in Silicon Valley, where the price of his house there is almost USD 100 million.
Unlike Acton, Jan Koum is known to have not set up or worked in any technology company. Maybe right now what the founder of WhatsApp is looking for is peace of life while enjoying the results of his hard work. Even WhatsApp may only be observed from afar.