Who Owns Viber?

Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinnik founded Viber in Israel in 2010, launching the iPhone app in December of that year. The founding team had previously built iMesh, a file-sharing service, and designed Viber initially as a free VoIP calling app that worked over WiFi and mobile data, with messaging added shortly after launch.

Adoption was immediate in specific regions. Viber passed 11 million users within months and grew past 100 million by 2013, building deep penetration in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Southeast Asian markets including the Philippines and Myanmar. Its free calling model competed directly with Skype and traditional carriers.

Rakuten announced its acquisition of Viber on February 14, 2014, for approximately $900 million. The purchase gave Rakuten an instant global communications user base to pair with its Japanese e-commerce platform and international content acquisitions such as Kobo and Viki. Co-founder Marco stayed through the transition before departing; the company relocated its corporate seat to Luxembourg while keeping major development operations in Israel and Minsk, later expanding in the Philippines and Eastern Europe.

Under Rakuten, Viber layered on monetization. It launched public chats and Communities, a Viber Out paid calling service, sticker and chatbot marketplaces, and advertising formats. Business messaging became a significant revenue line, with brands paying to send transactional and promotional messages to opted-in users.

By fiscal 2025, Rakuten reported 1.64 billion registered Viber accounts, though registered users substantially exceed monthly actives by industry convention. Viber remains the default messaging app in countries including Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and the Philippines, and Rakuten credits it with steady growth in both consumer communications and corporate marketing services.