FILE - This photo shows the icon for Microsoft's Skype app on a smartphone in New York, April 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011.
The tech giant said Friday it will retire Skype in May and shift some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its flagship videoconferencing platform. Skype users will be able to use their existing accounts to log into Teams.
Microsoft has for years prioritized Teams over Skype and the decision to fold the brand is part of a broader shift in how people communicate online.
Founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Tallinn, Estonia, Skype was a pioneer in making telephone calls using the internet instead of landlines. It added video calls after online retailer eBay bought the service in 2005.
By 2011, when Microsoft bought it from eBay, Skype had about 170 million users worldwide, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in an event announcing the planned merger.
“The Skype brand has become a verb, nearly synonymous with video and voice communications,” Ballmer said.
Skype was still considered high-tech in 2017 when recently inaugurated President Donald Trump’s administration used it to field questions from journalists far from the White House press briefing room.
Author of 'Clean Meat,' Paul Shapiro joins Cheddar to discuss how the cellular agricultural revolution helps lower rates of foodborne illness and greatly improves environmental sustainability. Plus, how his company The Better Meat Co. is bringing healthier food options to the table.
In an interview Monday with Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, Musk went on to predict AI will exceed all human intelligence within the next five years.
Nearly half of teenagers admit to using ChatGPT on their assignments. App Sizzle AI wants to give artificial intelligence a better reputation by actually helping them learn.
Barney Hussey-Yeo, CEO of Cleo, discusses why the financial services app’s A.I. assistant roasts its users with love, plus why Gen Z’s spending habits might surprise you.
