The rumors are over. [This just got announced.](http://www.skype.com/company/news/2005/skype_ebay.html) To celebrate the event, go ahead and [download the latest stable public version of Skype](http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-x).

Below is a letter from Niklas and Janus about the occasion.

### Hello,

When Janus and I originally created Skype, we had a vision of creating the world's largest communications company to revolutionise the way everyone communicates through the internet.

We believed that voice is the most natural way for people to communicate and that making it widely and easily available would be a major step forward in Internet communications. We also thought that as the Internet grew, there was no reason why everyone in world shouldn't be able to talk for free.

We set out to build software which was not just powerful but also incredibly easy to install and use. Janus and I wanted to make something which would make talking on the Internet the simplest and most natural thing in the world.

We are now working with an amazing dedicated and talented team of people across the world to deliver on this vision. Skype people are now in 15 countries, from 27 nationalities and everyday we wake up and think about one thing -- how can we make voice the most natural form of Internet communication.

It seems to have caught on.

In only two years, we have been fortunate to have experienced spectacular growth. There are now over 54 million people using Skype to talk for free to families, friends and colleagues in 225 countries and territories around the world -- everyday another 150,000 new people sign up to join in. We also have a fantastic and fast-growing network of thousands of partners and developers building exciting hardware and software products, as well services around the Skype experience.

Now today we are thrilled to be joining forces with Meg Whitman and the fantastic team at eBay to help us deliver on our vision and help make Skype the voice of the Internet. Working with eBay and Paypal -- two of the greatest brands on the Internet -- we can’t think of any more powerful platforms to accelerate our growth.

We want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you who has contributed so far to the growth of Skype. But let's remember, we've only just begun to write the story of becoming the voice of the Internet.

We are totally motivated for now and the next several years to continue all this great work and to try to exceed all of your expectations and more. We have some great ideas about what happens in the next chapter and think we have some powerful friends to help us realize our dreams. We can’t wait to work with you all in writing the next chapter and together make it possible for the whole world to talk for free.

Thanks again, all our best

**Niklas and Janus**