Last week Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, but just 9 years ago the company, which now is responsible for 13 percent of all international calls, was just an idea. This infographic from Focus shows the path to Skype’s acquisition from the company’s launch in 2003 to Microsoft’s recent acquisition, and it even outlines the possibilities for Skype’s future.

In 2003 Skype was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. The software was invented that year by Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn. Since then the company has seen a series of changes. In 2005 they were acquired by eBay and later that year released their video chat service. After eBay admitted it overestimated Skype’s valuation, the company saw a major net loss in 2007 which lead to conflict between the founders and eBay. In 2009 eBay sold 70 percent of the company to investors who saw the largest profit from Microsoft’s acquisition in 2011.

The future of Skype is uncertain as many people think Microsoft overpaid for the company, but Microsoft will gain Skype’s 100 million users with this acquisition as well as the opportunity to have the service integrated into a number of their existing platforms like Kinect and Windows Phone. Either way, Microsoft has ensured that Google and Facebook don’t get their hands on the video-chatting service.

To view the full sized infographic, click on the image below.