Skype, the platform that revolutionized online video calling, is set to shut down permanently. Microsoft, which acquired Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, has announced that the service will officially cease operations on May 5.
According to reports from The Associated Press, Microsoft’s decision to discontinue Skype is aimed at strengthening its video conferencing platform, Microsoft Teams. Existing Skype users will still be able to log in to Teams using their Skype accounts. Once a dominant platform in video communication, Skype had around 300 million active monthly users in 2016, but this number declined significantly to just 36 million by 2023, as reported by Forbes.
Skype was originally developed in 2003 by a group of engineers from Estonia. It introduced a groundbreaking feature that allowed users to make phone calls over the internet instead of using traditional landlines. By leveraging Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, Skype converted audio signals into digital data, transforming the way people communicated. Later, the platform expanded its services to include video calling. The company was first acquired by eBay in 2005 before being sold to Microsoft.
Despite once being the leading platform for video communication, Skype gradually lost its dominance with the rise of competitors like Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, and WhatsApp. While Skype paved the way for modern video calling applications, it ultimately fell behind in the race against these emerging platforms. Now, Microsoft aims to shift its focus entirely to Microsoft Teams, marking the end of an era for Skype.
