It has been an eventful year for the messaging industry, the consolidation in the market allowed both WhatsApp and Viber to concentrate on building the product and user base rather than worry about funding. Along with this, chat app Tango has just got a Series D US$285 million round of funding led by China’s Alibaba; this leaves them with a lot more resources to spend on growing their footprint and product. This signals the next level in chat app war that is taking place, one that goes beyond geographical expansion to one focused on monetization, quality of service and product features.