Skype is buying GroupMe in a bid to break into the increasingly competitive mobile group messaging market.
Earlier this year, the mobile app which makes it possible to share text messages, photos and locations privately with selected groups of people, won the ââ¬ËBreakout awardââ¬â¢ at South By Southwest Interactive awards.
The South By Southwest (SXSW) conference is seen as a good indicator of trends in technology services - both Twitter and Foursquare received boosts from the event ââ¬â so the high profile acquisition of GroupMe by Skype, for a rumoured $80 million, will be seen as a good result for a company no one had heard of a year ago. The New York-based start up, which has raised more than $10m from several investors, says its platform sends 100 million messages a month
Group messaging apps have become popular of late, with Facebook having just launched a new instant messaging app in the US post its acquisition of Beluga (one of the GroupMeââ¬â¢s biggest rivals), and alternative services popping up from Apple and Google ââ¬â in a bid to take on Blackberryââ¬â¢s Messenger app.
We think the mobile group messaging space is very important, said Tony Bates, Skype chief executive Tony Bates. It means furthering the breaking down of barriers to global communications.
In May earlier this year, Microsoft signed a deal to buy Skype for $8.5bn. However, the company is still awaiting the European Commissionââ¬â¢s approval so that the acquisition can officially close. In June, the US Federal Trade Commission granted its approval.
Rest of article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8715209/Skype-buys-GroupMe-messaging-app.html
Do any of you use Skype?
Earlier this year, the mobile app which makes it possible to share text messages, photos and locations privately with selected groups of people, won the ââ¬ËBreakout awardââ¬â¢ at South By Southwest Interactive awards.
The South By Southwest (SXSW) conference is seen as a good indicator of trends in technology services - both Twitter and Foursquare received boosts from the event ââ¬â so the high profile acquisition of GroupMe by Skype, for a rumoured $80 million, will be seen as a good result for a company no one had heard of a year ago. The New York-based start up, which has raised more than $10m from several investors, says its platform sends 100 million messages a month
Group messaging apps have become popular of late, with Facebook having just launched a new instant messaging app in the US post its acquisition of Beluga (one of the GroupMeââ¬â¢s biggest rivals), and alternative services popping up from Apple and Google ââ¬â in a bid to take on Blackberryââ¬â¢s Messenger app.
We think the mobile group messaging space is very important, said Tony Bates, Skype chief executive Tony Bates. It means furthering the breaking down of barriers to global communications.
In May earlier this year, Microsoft signed a deal to buy Skype for $8.5bn. However, the company is still awaiting the European Commissionââ¬â¢s approval so that the acquisition can officially close. In June, the US Federal Trade Commission granted its approval.
Rest of article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8715209/Skype-buys-GroupMe-messaging-app.html
Do any of you use Skype?
