Skype Technologies
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Janus Friis & Niklas Zennström |
| Headquarters |
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Redmond, Washington, United States |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Qi Lu(Executive Vice President, Application and Services Group, Microsoft) Gurdeep Singh Pall (Corporate Vice President, Skype and Lync) |
| Products | Skype, VoIP, IM, and video chat client for multiple platforms |
| Revenue | US$ 2 billion (2013 est.) |
|
Number of employees
|
500 (2010) |
| Parent | Microsoft Corporation |
| Website | skype |
Skype Technologies S.A.R.L (also known as Skype Software S.A.R.L, Skype Communications S.A.R.L, Skype Inc. and Skype Limited) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and Redmond, Washington, United States, whose chief business is the manufacturing and marketing of the instant messaging computer software program Skype, and various Internet telephony services associated with it.Microsoft Corporation purchased the company in 2011, and it has since then operated as their wholly owned subsidiary; however, the software continues to be licensed and operated by Skype Technologies. The company is a Société à responsabilité limitée, or SARL, equivalent to an American limited liability company.
Skype, a voice over IP (VoIP) service, was first released in 2003 as a way to make free computer-to-computer calls, or reduced-rate calls from a computer to telephones. Support for paid services such as calling landline/mobile phones from Skype (formerly called SkypeOut), allowing landline/mobile phones to call Skype (formerly called SkypeIn and now Skype Number), and voice messaging generates the majority of Skype's revenue.
eBay acquired Skype Technologies S.A. in September 2005 and in April 2009 announced plans to spin it off in a 2010 Initial Public Offering (IPO). In September 2009,Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board announced the acquisition of 65% of Skype for $1.9 billion from eBay, valuing the business at $2.75 billion. Skype was later acquired by Microsoft in May 2011 for $8.5 billion.
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Wikipedia