Skype, the Internet calling service, said on Sunday that it was buying GroupMe, a year-old start-up in New York that offers a group-messaging service for cellphones.
GroupMe, which has raised about $12 million from investors, is among technology/11group.html">a new wave of mobile services and start-ups that let multiple people participate in discussions, similar to a group chat room or e-mail.
Tony Bates, the chief executive of Skype, said discussions around an acquisition began back in May, when Microsoft technology/11skype.html?pagewanted=all">announced it would buy Skype.
“We’ve had a very strong focus on the audio and video side, but we haven’t really focused on text,” he said in an interview on Sunday. “We think the group-mobile-messaging market is changing the way people interact with mobile.”
Skype and GroupMe declined to discuss the terms of the deal, but Mr. Bates said GroupMe would continue to operate as an independent company in New York.
“Skype is very excited about New York and what’s happening on the scene there,” he said. “There is a lot of focus around social and the social gathering, which also fits into our vision for Skype.” Eventually, he said, the companies would begin thinking about tighter integration and collaboration.
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