Jan Koum

Jan Koum

entrepreneur Ukraine

Jan Koum is a Ukrainian-American computer programmer and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of WhatsApp, a popular messaging application used by over 2 billion people worldwide. Born on February 24, 1976, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Koum immigrated to the United States in 1992. He worked at Yahoo for nearly a decade before co-founding WhatsApp in 2009 with Brian Acton. The app quickly gained popularity for its simplicity and user-friendly interface, leading to its acquisition by Facebook in 2014 for approximately $19 billion. Koum has been an advocate for user privacy and has emphasized the importance of encryption in digital communications.

Born on Feb 24, 1976 (49 years old)

Global Media Ratings
Dominance
0.00%
Persistence
0 wks
Reach
2,957
Power
36$
Sentiment
5.00
Countries Mentioned
Country Mentions Sentiment Dominance + Persistence x Population = Reach x GDP (millions) = Power
Costa Rica 1 5.00 0.06% +0% 5,094,118 2,957 $62,000 36$
Totals 1 5,094,118 2,957 $62,000 36$
Interactive World Map

Each country's color is based on "Mentions" from the table above.

Recent Mentions

Switzerland Switzerland: Jan Koum co-founded Whatsapp in 2009 and initially upheld independence and data protection. 6

Neue Zürcher Zeitung: was das für Nutzer und Datenschutz bedeutet.

Jamaica Jamaica: Jan Koum is one of the founders of WhatsApp who vowed to keep the platform free of ads. 7

The Gleaner – major Jamaican newspaper, est. 1834: Meta brings ads to WhatsApp | World News

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan: Jan Koum is another co-founder of WhatsApp who left the company due to disagreements over monetization and advertising. 5

Tengri News – major Kazakh news website: WhatsApp нарушил многолетнее обещание: 17 июня 2025, 16:45

Ireland Ireland: Jan Koum is one of the founders of WhatsApp who previously promised never to sell ads within the app. 5

The Irish Times – major Irish daily, est. 1859: Meta introduces advertising to WhatsApp in push for new revenues – The Irish Times