Skype

On January 1, 2002, Skype raised US$ 250,000 in funding.

Skype, a telecommunications application known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing, and voice calls, was first released on August 29, 2003 by Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, and four Estonian developers.

On March 1, 2004, Skype received US$ 18.8 million in funding.

The first public release of Skype was made available exclusively for Linux operating system, marking its debut on the platform.

On 12 September 2005, eBay Inc. agreed to acquire Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA for approximately US$2.5 billion.

In 2005, eBay acquired Skype, a communication app, in an attempt to enhance its services. The acquisition aimed to integrate Skype's communication features with eBay's platform.

On February 6, 2006, Skype announced an investment in Fon.

On April 11, 2006, Skype acquired Sonorit.

Skype announced the introduction of its first calling subscriptions, allowing users to make calls through the platform.

High-ranking unnamed officials at the Austrian interior ministry claimed they could listen in on Skype conversations without problems during a meeting about the 'Lawful interception of IP based services' held on 25 June 2008.

Eurojust announced in February 2009 that it would coordinate investigations on internet telephony systems like Skype to overcome interception obstacles, considering data protection rules and civil rights.

On 1 September 2009, eBay announced it was selling 65% of Skype to Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for US$1.9 billion.

In January 2010, Skype changed its policy of seizing funds from inactive accounts after 180 days due to a class-action lawsuit settlement. They also compensated users up to US$4 for opting into the action.

In July 2010, Skype blocked access to its services for Fring users, who were previously able to make mobile video calls over Skype through the Fring app.

In September 2010, Opus codec, integrating SILK and CELT codec principles, was submitted to the IETF and later standardized as RFC 6716.

In October 2010, Nimbuzz stopped supporting Skype on their platform upon request, ending the availability of Skype services for BlackBerry users through Nimbuzz.

In November 2010, a flaw was revealed that allowed secret tracking of Skype users' IP addresses. This issue was challenging to address due to Skype's peer-to-peer nature but was fixed in a 2016 update.

Skype achieved a milestone by garnering 27 million online users globally, setting a new record for user expansion within a year.

On January 6, 2011, Skype acquired the mobile video startup Qik for US$150 million, expanding its services and technologies.

Skype's user base continued to grow exponentially, surpassing its own records consistently.

In May 2011, Microsoft announced the acquisition of Skype for a whopping US$8.5 billion, marking a significant milestone in the tech industry.

On 14 July 2011, Skype partnered with Comcast to bring its video chat service to Comcast subscribers via HDTV sets.

On August 21, 2011, Skype made another strategic acquisition by acquiring GroupMe, further expanding its portfolio of communication services.

On 19 July 2012, Microsoft revealed that Skype users had logged 115 billion minutes of calls in a quarter, showing a 50% increase from the previous quarter.

In November 2012, a Russian user revealed a security flaw in Skype that allowed unauthorized access to accounts using only the victim's email address. The vulnerability remained exploitable for over 12 hours after being widely publicized.

On January 10, 2013, Skype released version 6.1 for Windows, introducing Outlook integration to enhance the user experience and productivity.

On 17 June 2013, Skype released a free video messaging services for various operating systems.

On 12 August 2013, Skype released the 4.10 update for Apple iPhone and iPad apps that allowed HD quality video for iPhone 5 and fourth-generation iPads.

On 15 January 2014, TeleGeography estimated a 36% rise in Skype-to-Skype international traffic in 2013, reaching 214 billion minutes.

On March 4, 2014, Microsoft launches Skype for Outlook.com worldwide, introducing HD video chats for PC users and a Safari plugin for Mac users.

On June 20, 2014, Microsoft declared the deprecation of the old Skype protocol, informing users that they would need to update to newer Skype applications released in 2014 to continue using the service.

Around October 30, 2014, Skype released an update for iPhone users, enhancing features like picture saving options, improved chat load times, and easier search options within the app.

In November 2014, Skype received a low score of 1 out of 7 on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's secure messaging scorecard due to various encryption and security shortcomings.

On November 20, 2014, Microsoft Office's team announced the integration of a new chat feature powered by Skype into their software, allowing users to communicate with co-workers within the same document.

Around April 27, 2015, Facebook integrated video calling into Messenger, allowing users to have face-to-face conversations directly within the app, competing with platforms like Skype and FaceTime.

On May 5, 2015, Microsoft faced a legal setback as the European court ruled against them in a dispute with Sky, preventing Microsoft from trademarking the name 'Skype' due to its similarity to Sky broadcaster.

On 7 July 2015, Skype started redirecting Windows users to download the desktop version, with plans to discontinue support for Windows RT by October 2016.

Microsoft starts the private beta testing of Skype for Business apps for iOS and Android.

On 21 September 2015, Skype experienced an outage affecting users in New Zealand, Australia, and other countries. As a compensation, Skype offered 20 minutes of free calls to specific destinations.

Microsoft reveals its strategy to integrate Skype into Office Online, enabling users to communicate through voice and video chat within various Office applications.

Slack enhances its services by incorporating voice and video chat functionalities.

On 24 March 2016, Skype declared that the integrated applications for Windows 10 would be replaced by a new UWP application, aiming to provide a more unified experience.

Microsoft launches a free browser-based version of Skype tailored for small businesses.

On June 5, 2017, Microsoft announced plans to revamp Skype with features similar to Snapchat, enabling users to share temporary copies of photos and videos. However, this update was later removed due to negative feedback.

An article celebrating the 10th anniversary of Skype.

A PDF document detailing the history of Skype.

Skype's iOS and Android apps were no longer accessible for download in China due to unknown reasons.

Skype users collectively spent 2 billion minutes per day on the platform, marking a significant milestone in its usage.

Microsoft showcased a new tool that can translate Skype calls in real-time, resembling the technology seen in Star Trek. A beta version of the tool was announced to be released later in the year.

Skype is now integrated with Office and Outlook Online, allowing users to video chat and create new documents via Chrome.

Microsoft launched a free version of Skype tailored for small businesses to facilitate video conferencing.

Skype increased the capacity for conference calls, video chats, and screen sharing from 25 to 50 people on April 5, 2019.

As of March 2020, Skype was used by 100 million people monthly and 40 million daily. There was a 70% increase in daily users from the previous month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although Skype faced market share loss to Zoom.

Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom Video Communications gained popularity according to Google Trends.

The user speculates about the future of Skype, envisioning more options in video chat and a significant increase in the number of users. This reflects the anticipation for technological advancements in the platform.