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Skype announced today it has agreed to acquire group messaging service GroupMe. Financial details of the deal were not revealed.
“Skype and GroupMe have a shared vision of creating applications and experiences that are the daily communications choice for a billion people,” Skype CEO Tony Bates said in a statement announcing the deal. “The GroupMe team has created an incredibly sticky group messaging experience that works across mobile devices and platforms, making this a perfect addition to the voice, video and text products in the Skype family.”
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The year-old service, which combines free group texting and conference calling to create ongoing mobile-based group conversations, is part of a market that turned red hot earlier this year. GroupMe competitor rival Beluga was snapped up by Facebook in March.
GroupMe, which proudly announced in February that it’s sending a million text messages a day, launched a revamped version of its iPhone and Android apps in March that feature an improved interface, photo sharing within groups, and location sharing.
GroupMe has raised nearly $11 million in venture funding from partners such as Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, Betaworks, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, and Founder Collective.
The acquisition comes as the Luxembourg-based VoIP company itself is the subject of an acquisition by Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
