Microsoft is set to retire Skype, the groundbreaking Internet telecommunications and video calling platform it acquired almost 14 years ago for $8.5 billion.
“We will be decommissioning Skype in May 2025 to concentrate on Microsoft Teams (free), our advanced communications and collaboration platform,” which is already utilized by hundreds of millions at work, school, and at home,” stated Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, in a press release on Friday.
In late 2012, Microsoft discontinued its own instant messaging service, Messenger, following its acquisition of Skype the year before. However, in the years since, competitors such as FaceTime, Messenger, and WhatsApp have provided ways for people to connect that have made it challenging for Skype to remain competitive.
This competition became particularly evident during the initial phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, when people turned to Zoom while confined at home. Microsoft introduced Teams for consumers in 2020, while asserting its ongoing commitment to Skype at that time.
Skype was established in 2003 by entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, with the company’s name merging “Sky” with a nod to peer-to-peer networks, a pivotal technology in the dotcom boom for sharing online files and data.
The founders first sold Skype to eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion. Microsoft’s acquisition in May 2011, which was the largest purchase ever made by the software company, provided access to a user base of approximately 170 million monthly Skype users. This number surged to over 300 million by 2016 but dwindled to 36 million in 2023, according to Microsoft.
Current Skype users will have the opportunity to switch to the Microsoft Teams app, with their message history, group chats, and contacts accessible without creating an additional account, as per Microsoft’s announcement. Users can also choose to export their data to another application.
Skype will continue to operate until May 5, allowing users around two months to select their preferred option.
