WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton is leaving the company to pursue new venture

WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton is leaving the company after eight years of service to start a new foundation, he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“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,” wrote Acton.

Acton, a Stanford alumnus, co-founded WhatsApp with Ukrainian immigrant Jan Koum in 2009. The duo worked at Yahoo before starting WhatsApp. In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock.

Though at the moment, it isn't known what will be Acton's new endeavor, he certainly has money to throw around. Forbes estimates Acton’s net worth at $6.5 billion.

WhatsApp is today one of the most-used chat apps in the world, with 1.3 billion monthly active users and 1 billion daily active users. WhatsApp recently launched monetization efforts that had been in the works for more than a year centered around connecting businesses with WhatsApp users.