TechCrunch is reporting a possible partnership or acuisition in the works between Google and Skype, which was acquired by Ebay for $3.1 billion back in 2005. Since the deal, Skype has been flailing financially, causing Ebay to replace its CEO in a move that cost shareholders a whopping $936 million in losses.
While Skype has foundered, Google has increased its visibility in the VOIP realm, launching GTalk and other ventures, as well as acquiring telephone management service Grand Central last year. Arrington is quick to point out that this is still unconfirmed, but thinks a partnership could benefit both companies: “What does Skype bring to the table? Scalable technology and a proven platform in the VOIP, VOIP2POTS and P2P Video, to start – 100 billion VOIP minutes have been logged on Skype to date. At any given time there are 10 million simultaneous users on Skype. Skype is the glue that can pull all the nascent Google products together.”
