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.
Acton spent eight years with WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $19 billion in cash and stock.
"After 8 years at WhatsApp, I have decided to move on and start a new chapter in my life," Acton wrote on Facebook.
"I have decided to start a non-profit focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications," he added.
A Stanford alumnus, Acton had co-founded WhatsApp with Jan Koum in 2009. The duo worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp.
"I am very fortunate at my age to have the flexibility to take new risks and focus on what I'm passionate about," he said.
