Skype has bought US start-up Group Me for $80m, as the Microsoft-owned firm looks to boost its conference call tools.
GroupMe was founded last year and its app allows friends or colleagues to communicate in private groups on their mobile phones.
The service currently sends around 100 million messages per month.
GroupMe could be a great asset for the software company on its Windows-based mobile operating system.
Group Me’s applications will continue to exist separately for now but all of the firm’s 20 employees will eventually be joining Skype.
“We think the mobile group messaging space is very important,’ Skype chief executive Tony Bates said. ‘It means furthering the breaking down of barriers to global communications.’
There was perfect alignment,’ said GroupMe co-founder Steve Martocci. ‘There are a lot of different areas where we can integrate.’
It comes as huge technology firms such as Apple, Google and Facebook are launching their own smartphone messaging services.
Microsoft is still trying to get the approval of European Commission regulators to complete an $8.5billion purchase of Skype.
