2009
In September 2009 Andreessen Horowitz put $50 million into the Skype spin-out from eBay and bought about 1.8% of the company.
“But this is a case where they used $50 million to buy 1.8% of Skype.”
Topic
Skype
5 facts from 3 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
2010
Marc Andreessen helped recruit Tony Bates of Cisco to become CEO of Skype after the 2009 spin-out.
“And then he helps recruit Tony Bates to come in as the CEO. Tony from Cisco was a rising star there.”
2011
Andreessen Horowitz's $50 million Skype stake became about $153 million in roughly a year and a half.
“it was just a year and a half, it ended up turning into $153 million for them.”
2020
Microsoft decided to go all in on Teams and was rolling its Skype product into it.
“And so they're, they're shutting down or rolling in Skype, uh, into teams.”
Undated
Bill Gurley met Skype and liked it, but Benchmark lost the deal amid confusion over whether its U.S. or European team should lead it.
“He met Skype, likes Skype, goes right up his alley, right up Benchmark's alley.”
Episodes