Skype chief fears Tech giants

Skype chief fears Tech giants

	Published : Tue, 18 Oct 2005 00:35 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

Things are certainly looking up for VoIP call provider Skype; but the company’s ambitious founder and CEO Niklas Zennstrom seems to be looking at some future horizon and seeing potential threats from giants like Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL.

The company which was last month sold to California-based auction house eBay fears competition from technology majors that have huge resources and more importantly, huge databases of users. eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion in cash and stock. With the deal Skype has also gained access to eBay’s 161 million registered users.

There is no doubt that each of the tech firms (including Skype) are interested in getting the bigger piece of the VoIP pie. Companies like AOL, Google and Yahoo already club voice chat with their instant messenger service. Some have even confirmed their intention to venture into the VoIP market; and feel confident that their brand value and large databases would ensure a ready market for their product.

However Zennstrom’s worries seem a bit too premature as by the time the giants step into the arena, Skype would have grown with eBay’s resources behind it. It could then be a more level playing field than Zennstrom imagines. Additionally, analysts expect a huge growth in e-commerce applications using voice which could further spur eBay-Skype’s business with more traffic.

The Luxembourg-based entrepreneur is pleased with the acquisition by eBay. He said the parent company was known for nurturing its acquisitions and giving them enough freedom to pursue business independently. Some of eBay’s services will be integrated with Skype which will continue to partner with other tech firms.

The company which some years back no venture capitalist wanted to touch has helped pioneer free Internet phone calls and grown from strength to strength. Last month, it added personalized ring tones, pictures and sounds for members besides upgrading its software. It soon made great strides by offering free call forwarding to landline and mobile phones.