ExclusiveMicrosoft Will End Skype in May, Shifting Users to Teams

Microsoft is hanging up on Skype. The software giant said Friday it is retiring the two-decade-old internet calling service on May 5th. While it redefined how people connect across borders, Microsoft is now going to focus on its more modern Teams application instead. Founded in 2003, Skype's audio and video calls quickly disrupted the landline industry in the early 2000s and made the company a household name, boasting hundreds of millions of users at its peak. But the platform has struggled to keep up with easier-to-use and more reliable rivals such as Zoom and Salesforce's Slack in recent years. Skype will become the latest in a series of high-flying bets that Microsoft has mishandled, such as the Internet Explorer web browser and its Windows Phone. Other big tech firms have also struggled with online communication tools, including Google, which has made several attempts with Hangouts and Duo.