Skype, one of the early video conferencing services, will shut down in May 2025 as Microsoft shifts its focus to Teams. Microsoft, which bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, said it is streamlining its services to meet changing user needs.
“To streamline our free consumer communications offerings so we can more easily adapt to customer needs, we will be retiring Skype in May 2025 to focus on Microsoft Teams (free), our modern communications and collaboration hub,” the company said.
Skype’s software was developed by Estonians Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn, and Toivo Annus. The company was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennström, from Sweden, and Janus Friis, from Denmark. It introduced voice calls over the internet using VoIP (voice over internet protocol) technology and later added video calls.
Microsoft introduced Teams in 2017, but its use increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic as remote work and virtual meetings became more common. For some reason, Skype didn’t take off as much as Zoom and other video conferencing services. Teams is available as a standalone service and as part of Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel, and other cloud-based tools.
Microsoft noted that Teams has become an essential tool for work, school, and home communication. The company reported a fourfold increase in the number of minutes spent in Teams meetings over the past two years.
“With Teams, users have access to many of the same core features they use in Skype, such as one-on-one calls and group calls, messaging, and file sharing,” the company said.