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Skype files for IPO; to raise $100 million
MUMBAI: In its bid to raise $100 million to diversify and boost its user base and revenue, Internet phoning giant Skype has filed for an IPO. For this matter to fructify, the Luxembourg-based company would sell as much as $100 million of depositary shares held by its existing owners.
The company plans to use the money it raises from the IPO for “general business purposes” as it follows a strategy to grow both its base of free users and paid subscribers, increase its marketing and advertising revenue and expand its services for businesses.
In the first half of 2010, Skype increased its net revenue 25 per cent to $406.1 million from $324.8 million in the same period of the preceding year. However, its net income dropped to $13.1 million from $22.5 million.
As of 30 June this year, Skype had a monthly average of 124 million free users and 8.1 million paying users, up from 91 million free users and 6.6 million paying users respectively in the second quarter of 2009. Compared to 397 million users it had in the second quarter of 2009, Skype has as much as 560 million in the same period this year.
Since it was founded in 2003, the company has been wanting to float an IPO but gave up its plans when it was acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion. Later the VoIP service it started proved to be a failure, after which eBay thought of getting rid of Skype.
Zennstrom and co-founder Janus Friis then filed a litigation against eBay, which had failed to acquire key Skype software when it purchased the VoIP company. The litigation was settled when the Skype founders received an undisclosed amount of Skype equity.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
