Microsoft to Hang Up Skype in May After 14 Years of Service

The platform was around long before FaceTime, Zoom, or Teams. In fact, it became the de-facto term for digital live voice-video communication--you were going to 'Skype' someone.

  The 'oldest' live video chat platform will vanish in May of this year

Microsoft, according to Geekwire, had planned to release the news a little later, but it leaked its way out Thursday. In May, they will officially be pulling the plug on their widely-successful Skype communication platform.

Skype was launched in 2003, was purchased by e-Bay 2 years later for $2.6 million dollars, then they sold the majority to investors in 2009, and it was purchased by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion, one of its largest acquisitions ever.

The original platform was created by two tech experts from Sweden and Denmark, who then founded Skype Tech Industries, which is still around today.

Skype went on to become the most dominant form of voice and video calls over the internet. It even became part of culture and tech buzzwords. But as time wore on, increased competition from WhatsApp and Microsoft's own Lync program as well as tech issues diminished its use.

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And then spurred on by the pandemic Teams came along, and further buried Skype down the list. At its peak in December of 2023, Microsoft says there were 320 million active Teams users.  When COVID began in 2020, Skype had 40 million regular or daily users, but that was eroded by Zoom.

Skype users, says Microsoft, will be able to migrate to Teams by logging in there with their Skype credentials. Those who don't migrate can export their Skype data.

Jeff Teper, President of Microsoft's 365 Collaborative Apps, released a statement that read in part:

“Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and enabling countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey."