David Ramos
"I'm taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology, such as collecting rare air-cooled Porsches, working on my cars and playing ultimate frisbee," writes Koum.
The news was first reported by the Washington Post on Monday afternoon, before Koum himself confirmed it shortly after. Word of Koum's departure comes the day before Facebook's annual F8 developer conference in San Jose is slated to begin.
Koum became a billionaire when he and WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton sold the popular messaging app to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014.
To read more about Koum's departure, click here.
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