Every now and then, an investor hears a developer friend say: “A messenger isn’t that complicated. Just grab some existing open‑source code, reskin it, and in a few months you’ve got your own app.”
Technically, that statement holds a tiny grain of truth. A developer can set up a server, user registration, messaging, file sharing, photo sending, and even basic audio and video calls.
But the gap between a developer’s prototype and a global communication platform is roughly the same as the gap between a car built in a garage and a multinational automotive corporation.
You can build a car in a garage. What you cannot do in a garage is simultaneously create a factory, a supplier network, quality control, safety engineering, service centers, sales in 194 countries, and 24/7 support for millions of owners.
The same applies to superapps.
You can download code—or write it from scratch. What you cannot download is the architecture, the team’s experience, the international infrastructure, the security system, the user network, marketing and distribution, or the ability to maintain and evolve the product around the clock, year after year.
What really happens behind a simple “Send”?
The user taps “Send” and expects the message to reach the recipient instantly. Behind that tap lies a complex technological chain:
- Locate the recipient
- Verify authorization
- Encrypt the data
- Choose a delivery route
- Handle unstable connections
- Persist the message
- Sync it across multiple devices
- Deliver the notification
If the sender is in one country and the recipient on another continent, the platform must do all of this quickly, securely, and invisibly.
The same goes for photos, documents, voice messages, group chats, channels, audio and video calls. Every one of these features requires its own server components, databases, queuing systems, caching, storage, content‑delivery networks, and real‑time monitoring.
When you scale to several million users, even a minor technical glitch becomes a daily nuisance. If a bug affects only one in a hundred thousand users, with an audience of 50 million it can still happen hundreds of times a day.
That is why the real work doesn’t begin when you write the first version of the code—it begins after you launch.
Example: Signal
Signal is one of the most well‑known secure messengers with an open‑source codebase. You can use it for free, but free code does not mean free operations.
Signal has publicly stated that its infrastructure costs alone run about $14 million per year. That breaks down to roughly:
- $6 million for registration SMS and phone calls
- $2.9 million for servers
- $2.8 million for data transfer
- $1.3 million for storage
- $0.7 million for ancillary services
When you add in the team, development, security, support, and ongoing operations, Signal’s total annual expenses have been estimated at over $50 million.
Signal’s official breakdown:
https://signal.org/blog/signal-is-expensive/
Example: Element
Element and the Matrix protocol let you build your own communication environment. Some components are available as open‑source software.
However, open source doesn’t mean a company can take the code, modify it, keep those modifications proprietary, and use the product without any obligations.
Element’s core server components are licensed under AGPLv3. If a company wants to keep its changes closed‑source, it needs a commercial Build Subscription.
Element charges $3 per user per month for that subscription.
At that rate:
- 1,000 users → $3,000/mo → $36,000/year
- 10,000 users → $30,000/mo → $360,000/year
- 100,000 users → $300,000/mo → $3.6M/year
- 1 million users → $3M/mo → $36M/year
- 10 million users → $30M/mo → $360M/year
At 50 million users, the arithmetic benchmark would be $150M/month, or $1.8B/year.
Element’s pricing page:
https://element.io/en/build
Beyond that, you would also need to provide:
- 24/7 operations in 194 countries
- Support for dozens of device models
- Scaling to tens of millions of users
- DDoS protection
- Incident investigation and response
- Moderation and complaint handling
- Bot and mass‑registration countermeasures
- An international legal framework
- Payment licensing, KYC, and AML compliance
- Personal data storage and protection
- Multi‑language user support
- Marketing, analytics, and retention
- Agreements with infrastructure and financial partners
- Stable operation across operating‑system updates
- Long‑term product evolution
The biggest challenge doesn’t come before the app is published—it comes after.
A developer can copy an interface. What they cannot copy is trust, habits, audience, and the human connections that keep people coming back.
That’s exactly why Meta agreed to pay roughly $16 billion for WhatsApp in 2014, plus another $3 billion in restricted stock units for employees. Meta wasn’t buying code—it was buying the network, the engagement, and the global market position.
Meta’s official announcement:
https://about.fb.com/news/2014/02/facebook-to-acquire-whatsapp/
Over ten years, Gem Space has evolved from a technological idea into a live international platform.
The cumulative investment in Gem Space over that decade is stated at approximately €190 million. That figure cannot be judged solely by the number of visible buttons in the app.
The capital of such a project goes into an entire ecosystem:
- Server‑side architecture
- Cross‑platform applications
- Calling and video conferencing
- Security and encryption
- Cloud infrastructure
- Data storage and transmission
- Quality assurance and testing
- Technical support
- UX design and user‑behavior research
- Localization
- Marketing and community development
- Legal structure
- Intellectual‑property protection
- Financial and payment systems
- AI tools
- Business services and mini‑apps
- Bug fixing and addressing technical debt
- Ongoing adaptation to changes from Apple, Google, and regulations
Gem Space’s public website reports over 51 million installs, a presence in 194 countries, and more than 50,000 investors. It also states that in December 2025, SIA Auditor Company “Finansists” valued the app at $2,121,553,880, based on 44,598,568 active users.
Gem Space official page:
http://gemspace.com
Gem Space pitch landing page:
https://angels.gemspace.team
Even a technically flawless messenger has little value if the people you want to talk to aren’t there.
That’s why a huge part of the effort goes into market entry: positioning, brand building, advertising, PR, content, affiliate programs, app‑store optimization, community outreach, and working with regional leaders.
You don’t just need to attract a user—you need to help them register, find their contacts, start using the features, come back, and invite others.
Building a global messenger is therefore simultaneously a technological, marketing, and social challenge.
Gem Space is no longer a future vision or experimental code. It is a living, international product that is rapidly expanding its paid features, AI capabilities, enterprise licenses, Gem Team, and White‑Label offerings.
So Gem Space’s value isn’t in the ability to send a message. Its value lies in the already‑built combination of technology, audience, infrastructure, expertise, and time.
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