Online calling service Skype, which Microsoft said earlier this year it would acquire for $8.5 billion, announced its own acquisition on Sunday: according to a blog post from Skype CEO Tony Bates, the company is buying GroupMe, a New York-based startup just over a year old that offers users a way to send group messages from their phones.
Though Skype did not offer details on the purchase price, according to All Things Digital, Skype is paying "around $85 million for the company," which was valued at $35 million during a $10 million round of funding raised in November of last year. Earlier this month, GroupMe, which has around 20 employees, celebrated its one-year anniversary in New York. Business Insider notes the company has "a few million users" and sends "more than 100 million texts per month."
TechCrunch and the New York Times report that Skype has been in discussions with GroupMe since May, the same month Microsoft's Skype acquisition was announced.
"The GroupMe team has created an incredibly sticky group messaging experience that works across mobile devices and platforms, making it a perfect addition to our voice, video and text products," Bates wrote in a statement. "We're excited about introducing their disruptive product to our global user base."
Bates offered few details on Skype's plans for GroupMe, though noted in his blog, "this latest acquisition, coupled with our acquisition of Qik earlier this year, augments our role as an innovator in driving unique mobile user experiences."
What do you make of Skype's move? How would you want to see Skype integrate GroupMe's group messaging features? Let us know in the comments below.