Yahoo

Yahoo, commonly known as Yahoo!, is an American web services company and web portal. Based in Sunnyvale, California, it provides a range of online products including Yahoo Search, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, and Yahoo Weather. The company also operates a content and media network and maintains a large archive of online services that collectively function as a major portal for news, email, entertainment, and finance.

History and development: Yahoo began in January 1994 as Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web, created by Stanford graduate students David Filo and Jerry Yang. It was renamed Yahoo! later that year and grew rapidly in the 1990s as one of the leading internet brands. The company went public in 1996 and expanded through the late 1990s and early 2000s with various products and acquisitions, becoming a dominant portal and search player of its era.

Corporate changes: In 2017, Yahoo was acquired by Verizon Communications for about $4.8 billion and became part of Verizon Media, later rebranded as Oath. In 2021, Verizon announced the sale of Yahoo and other media properties to Apollo Global Management; the assets were reorganized under a new corporate structure, with Yahoo continuing to operate as a global web platform under the Yahoo, Inc. umbrella and Jim Lanzone appointed as CEO.

Impact and position: Today, Yahoo remains a widely used web portal and email provider, known for its flagship services such as Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Finance. It faces ongoing competition from larger search and social platforms but maintains a notable presence in online advertising, content distribution, and digital media.