Rakuten Viber

Rakuten Viber is a messaging, voice, and video call application operating as a subsidiary of Japan's Rakuten since its acquisition in 2014 for $900 million. The application was founded in Israel in 2010 by Talmon Marco and Igor Magazinnik, with its primary development headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Viber provides free instant messaging and voice/video calls between users worldwide, as well as paid calls to regular phone numbers through the Viber Out service. Beyond the consumer application, the Viber for Business platform enables companies to communicate with customers via business messaging, chatbots, and promotional campaigns — the primary B2B product the company markets to enterprise clients.

The consumer Viber application includes text messaging, voice/video calls, group chats, and Communities (large open groups). On the business side, Viber Business Messages allows brands to send transactional and promotional messages directly to consumers, while the Viber Chatbot API enables automated conversation flows. Viber Out is the paid service for dialing standard telephone numbers.

Viber competes directly with WhatsApp (Meta), Telegram, and LINE in the markets where it holds meaningful share — particularly Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. WhatsApp remains the dominant competitor in most global markets by user volume. Viber holds a notably strong position in markets such as Ukraine, Myanmar, and Serbia.

Viber's primary R&D center is located in Tel Aviv, where its engineering and product teams are based. The company was founded by Israeli entrepreneurs, and Israel has remained its core engineering base following the Rakuten acquisition.