Skype

Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, debit-based calls to landline and mobile telephones (over traditional telephone networks), and other features. It was available on various desktop, mobile, and video game console platforms.

Skype was created by Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, and four Estonian developers, and first released in August 2003. In September 2005, eBay acquired it for $2.6 billion. In September 2009, Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought 65% of Skype for $1.9 billion from eBay, valuing the business at $2.92 billion. In May 2011, Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion and used it to replace its own Windows Live Messenger. As of 2011, most of the development team and 44% of all the division's employees were in Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia.

Skype originally featured a hybrid peer-to-peer and client–server system. It became entirely powered by Microsoft-operated supernodes in May 2012; in 2017, it changed from a peer-to-peer service to a centralized Azure-based service. In February 2023, it was used by 36 million people each day.

The service was retired on 5 May 2025, and the website now redirects users to Microsoft Teams, however the Skype Dial Pad remains functional for users with paid services.

Etymology

The name for the software was derived from the words "sky" and "peer-to-peer", the latter of which described the software's network architecture. This was then abbreviated to "Skyper"; however, some of the domain names for Skyper were already taken. By dropping the final "r", the title became "Skype", for which domain names were available at the time.