Skype, a telecommunications platform currently owned by Microsoft, became ubiquitous in the early 2000s, at one point accounting for up to 40% of all international calls.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, making it a division of Microsoft with its former CEO Tony Bates reporting to then- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
By offering free voice and video calls between Skype users globally, it effectively undercut traditional telecommunications providers that charged hefty fees for international calls.
However, Skype has since lost some of its audience to Microsoft Teams - particularly in the business context - and a significant portion of its market share to Zoom.
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