Skype boasted 150 million monthly users at its peak. However, it has seen its role eclipsed by newer platforms such as MS Teams and Zoom.

Microsoft acquired Skype over a decade ago. Last week, it announced that it will be closing down the app from May.

Nevertheless, Skype's legacy extends beyond just free internet and video calls. Other major Estonian tech firms such as Wise and Bolt are very much heirs to the original trailblazer.

Founded by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, Skype was developed by Estonians Jaan Tallinn, Ahti Heinla, and Priit Kasesalu. It was created in the early 2000s in a fairly anonymous-looking, Soviet-era building in the Mustamäe district of Tallinn. Initially called "Skyper," an abbreviation of "Sky peer-to-peer," Skype was properly rolled out on August 29, 2003.

While it was not the only VoIP solution at the time, it quickly became an overnight sensation. It allowed people the then-novelty of making free internet calls to anyone, almost anywhere in the world.

All that was required was for both users to have Skype downloaded and an internet connection. Paid calls to landline and other non-Skype numbers were also possible.

Skype saw around 10,000 downloads in just its first day. Within two months, it had reached one million accounts.

It also became an early calling card for Estonia as a whole and the country's brand.

Tech leader Sten Tamkivi was Skype Estonia's CEO from 2005 to 2013.

"From the outside, it's easy to see Skype as an overnight success. A product built in some remote corner of the world. Then, the next day or month, it had a million users. Everything went smoothly after that," Tamkivi told Aktuaalne kaamera.

"But in actuality, the same team had spent four to five years building various unsuccessful companies," he went on.

"When you bear in mind that at the time, most people had desktop computers with no headsets or built-in microphones, it seemed like a strange point in time to suggest that everyone would soon start making phone calls over the internet," he added.

The same could be said of webcams.

"Later, the video calls followed. But it was about having the courage to do things differently," Tamkivi said.

Martin Villig, co-founder of Bolt, remembered: "Skype had many competitors. Just as Google wasn't the first search engine, and Facebook wasn't the first social network."

"Others had tried to create the same sort of service before Skype. Its advantage lay in the fact that it was made so technologically simple that anyone could install it and use it," he went on.

He noted that it practically marketed itself via word-of-mouth contact.

Tamkivi recalled: "One test we used was the 'granny test.' Could your granny download Skype unassisted, set it up within 10 minutes, and call her grandkids? And yes, she could."

Skype's global reach was such that the verb "to Skype" got added to English and other dictionaries.

With the rise of the smartphone a few years after Skype's founding, the platform was made available in that format too.

While Skype's over 20-year lifespan is coming to a close, its legacy is not.

Villig noted: "It started with the confidence and experience gained. Then, the international network. And finally, the stock options and capital from Skype's sale, which reached Estonia via its employees."

Skype was first sold to eBay in 2005 for US$2.6 billion. Then, in 2011, it was sold to Microsoft for US$8.5 billion.

In fact, that seed capital also helped launch Bolt, formerly Taxify. It also directly or indirectly helped establish many other companies worldwide.

Tamkivi said: "Globally, we can point to over 900 new companies founded by former Skype employees. As of now, this has created trillions — not billions, but trillions — of dollars in value across the economies of dozens of countries. That is an undeniable impact."

Villig said he last used Skype a couple of months ago. "We still had one group chat with friends there. But two months ago, we decided to migrate it. It was the only group that had kept all our friends using Skype on their computers or phones. So we decided to switch to another platform," he said.

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