Yahoo - technology company

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Yahoo is a technology company founded in January 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo. Initially created as "Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web," it was incorporated as Yahoo Inc. in March 1995. Yahoo became one of the most visited web directories and search engines in the 1990s, leading the internet boom with a wide range of services, including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, and Yahoo Sports.

Yahoo Mail, introduced in 1997, grew to become one of the most widely used email services globally. Yahoo Messenger, launched in 1998, was a widely popular instant messaging platform during the early 2000s. Yahoo was a major player in digital advertising, acquiring Overture Services in 2003, which bolstered its position in the growing online advertising market.

Yahoo also made notable acquisitions throughout its history. In 1999, it purchased GeoCities, a popular web hosting service at the time, and in 2005, it acquired the photo-sharing platform Flickr. One of its larger acquisitions was Tumblr, bought in 2013 for approximately $1.1 billion.

Despite its early dominance, Yahoo struggled to compete with emerging internet giants, particularly Google. In 2008, Microsoft made an unsolicited offer to purchase Yahoo for $44.6 billion, but the company rejected the offer. By 2009, Yahoo had entered into a partnership with Microsoft, allowing Microsoft’s Bing search engine to power Yahoo Search. This partnership was part of an effort to regain competitiveness in the search market.

In 2012, Marissa Mayer, a former Google executive, was appointed CEO of Yahoo. Mayer aimed to revitalize the company by focusing on its mobile products and acquisitions of startups to expand Yahoo’s technological base. However, Yahoo continued to face challenges in regaining market share and influence.

In 2016, Yahoo suffered reputational damage from the disclosure of two large data breaches, affecting over a billion user accounts. Later that year, Verizon Communications agreed to acquire Yahoo’s core internet operations for $4.48 billion. The sale was finalized in 2017, and Yahoo was merged with AOL under Verizon’s newly formed Oath division.

Post-acquisition, Yahoo’s remaining assets, primarily its stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, were managed by a holding company called Altaba. Altaba eventually liquidated itself in 2019. Yahoo’s web services, such as Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and Yahoo Mail, continued to operate under Verizon Media.