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S
Company · Software & IT

Skype

Internet telephony and video calling service acquired by Microsoft.

Defunct 🦄 Unicorn Founded 2003–2025 Luxembourg Luxembourg Software & IT
Website ↗ Wikipedia ↗ Suggest an edit
Acquired by Microsoft.

Founders

3
J
Jaan Tallinn
Co-founder
 J
Janus Friis
Co-founder
 N
Niklas Zennström
Co-founder & CEO

Where its founders came from

2

The companies and labs that produced Skype’s founders.

Tele2 Kazaa

The Skype diaspora

10 companies Open the full tree →

People who worked at or founded Skype and went on to start their own companies.

Lineage of SkypeSkypeSkypeJanus FriisJanus FriisKazaaKazaaSkype TechnologiesSkype TechnologiesStarship TechnologiesStarship TechnologiesNiklas ZennströmNiklas ZennströmKazaaKazaaSkype TechnologiesSkype TechnologiesAtomicoAtomicoTaavet HinrikusTaavet HinrikusWiseWiseTransferWiseTransferWiseJaan TallinnJaan TallinnBluemoon InteractiveBluemoon InteractiveMartin VilligMartin VilligBoltBolt
The Skype lineage graph — click any node to keep exploring. ↓ CSV↓ JSON
J 1 founded
Bluemoon Interactive
J 3 founded
Kazaa 2001 Skype Technologies 2003 Starship Technologies 2014
M 1 founded
Bolt 2013
N 3 founded
Kazaa 2001 Skype Technologies 2003 Atomico 2006
T 2 founded
Wise 2011 TransferWise 2011

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