Microsoft retires Skype, internet call pioneer

Microsoft on Friday announced it was retiring Skype, the online voice and video call pioneer that the tech titan acquired in 2011.

“Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available,” said a post from Skype support on social media, directing users to sign into Microsoft’s Teams platform for further use of its services.

Skype was founded in 2003 by Scandinavians Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis in Estonia, revolutionising internet communication by offering free voice calls between computers and affordable rates for calls to landlines and mobile phones.

Over the years, and as internet speeds improved, Skype evolved to include video calls, instant messaging, file sharing and group communication features.

By 2005, Skype had already reached 50 million registered users, showing its rapid global adoption.

Online auction site eBay acquired Skype in 2005 for around US$2.6 billion, but the expected synergies never panned out, and in 2009, eBay sold a majority stake to a group of investors, who then sold it to Microsoft.

In recent years, especially after the rise of the smartphone, Skype failed to hold onto its place against new rivals such as Meta-owned WhatsApp and Zoom, as well as Microsoft’s own Teams.