• Business Insider, Monday, November 8, 2010 1:19 PM

Demonstrating high demand for promising startups, GroupMe is raising a round that will put its valuation close to $30 million, reports Business Insider. According to BI, GroupMe's service -- which lets users text groups of people using one phone number -- has potential, but wouldn't be valued so highly were it not for a "frantic bidding war between East Coast and West Coast venture capitalists."

On the West Coast, interested VC firms include Sequoia, Andresseen Horowitz, and Khosla Ventures, while East Coast firms include General Catalyst, Flybridge, and Union Square Ventures. On either coast, how hard-pressed are VCs to score worthwhile investments? "We understand one VC flew to New York over the weekend, and arrived at a GroupMe principle's doorstep around 9 P.M. one night," writes BI. Also of note, Twitter reportedly entertained the idea of acquiring GroupMe before concluding that it could easily replicate the service internally.

Read the whole story at Business Insider »