1983; 41 years ago (1983) (as Control Video Corporation)
2009; 15 years ago (2009) (as AOL Inc.)
Founders
Marc Seriff
Steve Case
Jim Kimsey
William von Meister
Headquarters
770 Broadway,
New York City
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Services
Web portal and online services
Number of employees
5,600
Parent
AOL Time Warner (2001–2009)
Verizon Communications (2015–2021)
Yahoo! Inc. (2021–present)
Website
aol.com
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online[1]) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), that went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client was launched in 1988, and eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users.[2]
AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the 1990s and was (at one point) the most recognized brand on the web in the United States. AOL once provided a dial-up internet service to millions of Americans and pioneered instant messaging and chat rooms with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for US$4.2 billion. By 2000, AOL was providing internet service to over 20 million consumers, dominating the market of internet service providers (ISPs).[3] In 2001, at the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in US history. AOL rapidly shrank thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up and rise of broadband.[4] AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.
On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion.[5][6] On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced it would sell Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion.[7] On September 1, 2021, AOL became part of the new Yahoo! Inc.
^Hosch, William L.; Tikkanen, Amy (November 18, 2021). "AOL". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
^Nollinger, Matt (September 1, 1995). "America, Online!". Wired. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^Bule, Guise (March 31, 2020). "A Short History Of The Internet". ITSEC. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
^Lever, Rob (May 12, 2015). "Verizon buys faded Internet pioneer AOL for $4.4 bn". Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018.
^Imbert, Fred (May 12, 2015). "Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4B; AOL shares soar". CNBC. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
^Sawers, Paul (June 23, 2015). "Verizon completes $4.4B acquisition of AOL". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
^Valinsky, Jordan (May 3, 2021). "Verizon offloads Yahoo and AOL in $5 billion deal". CNN. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider...
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The company's previous assets included Time Inc., TW Telecom, AOL, Time Warner Cable, AOL Time Warner Book Group, and Warner Music Group; these operations...
acquired by AOL for US$315 million, with Arianna Huffington appointed editor-in-chief. In June 2015, Verizon Communications acquired AOL for US$4.4 billion...
AOL Explorer, previously known as AOL Browser, was a graphical web browser developed by AOL. It was released in July 2005 as a free, standalone download...
AOL On was created as a successor to AOL TV. The launch was announced at the 2012 Digital Content NewFront. AOL On creates news and entertainment reports...
AOL Seed was an open content submission website and platform operated by AOL from 2009 to 2012, when it was closed. Writers and photographers were able...
the first stadium to be built on the site of the Volksparkstadion and the AOL Arena. It was inaugurated on 13 September 1925 with a match between FC Altona...
One by AOL, formerly known as Millennial Media, was an advertising company that places display ads on mobile devices (mobile marketing). One by AOL was founded...
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display (rather than a monitor), and the online service that supports it, both of...
by AOL in a pooling-of-interests transaction ultimately worth US$10 billion. In February 1998, approximately one year prior to its acquisition by AOL, Netscape...
AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United...
TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved April 8, 2017. Fingas, Jon (December 15, 2016). "Instagram hits 600 million users as its growth speeds up". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved...
Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $25 million. Following the 2015 acquisition of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon, the site...
AOL is an internet company founded in 1985 as Quantum Computing Services. Each acquisition is for the respective company in its entirety. The acquisition...
through phone phreaking. Lamo first became known for operating AOL watchdog site Inside-AOL.com. Lamo was a grey hat hacker who viewed the rise of the World...
and Dmitry Boldyrev by their company Nullsoft, which they later sold to AOL in 1999 for $80 million. It was then acquired by Radionomy in 2014, now known...
Lakatamia (Greek: Λακατάμια [lakaˈtamɳa]; Turkish: Lakadamya) is a southwestern suburb of Nicosia, Cyprus. In terms of population, Lakatamia municipality...
Siegler, MG (March 14, 2010). "The Key To Gmail: Sh*t Umbrellas". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2018...
The AOL Community Leader Program or AOL CLP was the official name for the large group of America Online online service volunteers who moderated chat rooms...
(EIL). Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011. "AOL Sessions Live". Amazon. Retrieved 5 February 2011. "Unplugged – The Veronicas"...
For Disappearing Picture Messages" In New Court Documents". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2017...
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, formed in 1999 and led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived...
AOL Hometown was a web hosting service offered by AOL. It offered 12 megabytes of server space for AOL subscribers to publish their own websites, and included...
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