Microsoft Retires Skype for Teams Focus

Microsoft is retiring its two-decade-old internet calling service, Microsoft — Skype, on May 5, to focus on its homegrown Microsoft service. Microsoft — Skype, founded in 2003, once disrupted the landline industry but struggled to keep up with rivals like SBA Communications, Salesforce's Slack, Meta Platforms' WhatsApp, and Tencent's WeChat, partly due to its technology not being suited for the smartphone era. Microsoft acquired Microsoft — Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, but its user base declined significantly from 150 million monthly users at the time of acquisition to roughly 23 million by 2020. Microsoft will allow Microsoft — Skype users to log into Microsoft for free with existing credentials, with chats and contacts migrating automatically. The company stated there would be no job cuts due to the move, and Microsoft currently boasts about 320 million monthly active users. This decision reflects Microsoft's strategy to simplify its communication offerings and prioritize Microsoft, which has been aggressively integrated with other Office apps.