GroupMe acquired by Skype(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
GroupMe acquired by Skype
http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/21/skype-to-acquire-year-old-group-messaging-service-groupme/
11 comments
For a reported $85M: http://dthin.gs/owvvqM
It's like they told Skype just pay us 1% of whatever MSFT paid you ...
interesting video of GroupMe's office: http://www.techcrunch.tv/show/tc-cribs/k5c3hoMjrwPJRVR0wagp3...
I find that interesting from Twilio's perspective: GroupMe was using Twilio to send SMSs (at least at first, but they didn't have much time to change the most important part of their service) and Twilio has recently added some VoIP components (Twilio Client) to their offer, which, even though doesn't compete directly with Skype, is covering much more bases than Skype is when it comes to integration in web or mobile apps.
And based on some announced usage numbers from GroupMe a few months ago I imagine Twilio was/is making good money from them alone…
And based on some announced usage numbers from GroupMe a few months ago I imagine Twilio was/is making good money from them alone…
I have to imagine that if Skype does anything with GroupMe at a technical level, they'll cut Twilio out of the picture. Skype writing checks to Twilio seems like a temporary situation.
Could Google Huddle have influenced Skype to make this move? Google is clearly trying to enter the group messaging space and has the infrastructure to support both text and voice group communication.
I really hope Skype lets GroupMe continue to operate on it's own, and doesn't ruin it. It's an awesome service, and lets me keep in touch with my tech-adverse friends from back home. Some people use AIM, some use Facebook, some use email, some use MSN, some use BBM -- but everyone has texting.
The beauty is the simplicity. On vacation with some friends? Spin up a new groupme for the week. I can't see it remaining this easy if skype starts taking advantage of "integration points".
The beauty is the simplicity. On vacation with some friends? Spin up a new groupme for the week. I can't see it remaining this easy if skype starts taking advantage of "integration points".
With Skype itself being acquired by Microsoft, it's hard to imagine GroupMe remaining a standalone product--or even as elegantly simple as it is now.
Even if they do, I have the feeling that the loser in this purchase is Twilio. I have a hard time imagining Skype or eventually Microsoft paying Twilio to handle their telephony infrastructure.
Skype already has its own infrastructure to support Voice and SMS. Iam pretty sure twilio will be out of the picture the moment the deals is done.
Well they will have to transfer over the phone numbers so they don't break backward compatibility. I don't quite know how that works with VoIP providers, but I think it's doable. Might slow things down a bit though.
I'm going to need an aggregator for my social aggregators between Huddle, GroupMe, Social Hub, Buzz, Foursquare, IM and SMS.
Congrats to the GroupMe team. I had a chance to meet a couple of them a while ago and they were really nice guys. Well-deserved.
I'm curious what people generally prefer between group SMS and group data messaging?
Wow. I was there. And I am still bootstrapping my company. Well we got seed money but a lot of it was still bootstrapped.
Yet I feel we have way bigger ambitions... I wonder sometimes if raising investment sooner was better
Yet I feel we have way bigger ambitions... I wonder sometimes if raising investment sooner was better
My guess is that Microsoft had no involvement in this purchase and is basically winding up with GroupMe as a party favor. Pretty nifty party favor, if you ask me.