WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton leaves company to start non-profit based on communication, tech

Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, now owned by Facebook Inc, will leave the messaging service company to start a new foundation, he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_4038479” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Brian Acton. Reuters[/caption] Acton spent eight years with WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $19 billion in cash and stock. A Stanford alumnus, Acton co-founded WhatsApp with Ukrainian immigrant Jan Koum in 2009. The duo worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp. Here’s the full text of his post: After 8 years at WhatsApp, I have decided to move on and start a new chapter in my life. I am very fortunate at my age to have the flexibility to take new risks and focus on what I’m passionate about. I’ve decided to start a non-profit focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while, and now it’s time to just focus and execute. I’ll have more to share in the coming months. This decision is, of course, a tough one. I’m proud of what our team has accomplished in only a few years, and it’s humbling to see that so many people rely on WhatsApp every day. (With inputs from Reuters)