Yahoo, once a dominant force in the early days of the internet, has had a tumultuous journey over the past few decades. From its humble beginnings as a directory of websites to its rise as a global internet powerhouse, to its fall from grace and subsequent rebirth, Yahoo’s story is a fascinating one. Here’s a timeline of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Yahoo.
1994: Yahoo is founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo, two Stanford University graduate students. The original intent of the website was to create a directory of websites to help users navigate the internet.
Late 1990s: Yahoo becomes one of the most popular websites on the internet, offering a range of services including email, news, and search. The company goes public in 1996 and sees its stock price soar during the dot-com boom.
Early 2000s: Yahoo reaches its peak, with a market cap of over $100 billion. The company makes a number of high-profile acquisitions, including buying the popular photo sharing site Flickr in 2005.
Late 2000s: Yahoo’s decline begins as it struggles to keep up with competitors like Google and Facebook. The company fails to innovate and falls behind in key areas such as search and social media. This leads to a series of CEO changes and internal turmoil.
2013: Yahoo hires Marissa Mayer, a former Google executive, as its CEO in an attempt to turn the company around. However, despite some efforts to revamp the company’s products and services, the decline continues.
2016: After years of declining revenue and market share, Yahoo announces that it will be acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.8 billion. The deal is completed in 2017, and Yahoo is integrated into Verizon’s media division.
2017: The remnants of Yahoo, including its email and digital media assets, are merged with AOL to form a new company called Oath, which is later rebranded as Verizon Media Group.
2019: Verizon sells Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. The deal includes the sale of Verizon Media, which includes well-known brands such as Yahoo, AOL, and TechCrunch.
2021: Yahoo is relaunched as a standalone company, with the goal of revitalizing its brand and rebuilding its digital media business. The new Yahoo aims to focus on providing content, commerce, and community to its users.
The rise, fall, and rebirth of Yahoo is a cautionary tale of how quickly fortunes can change in the fast-paced world of technology and the internet. The company that was once synonymous with the internet struggled to adapt to the changing landscape and was ultimately overtaken by more nimble and innovative competitors.
As Yahoo embarks on its new chapter as a standalone company, it remains to be seen if it can regain its former glory. The internet has evolved significantly since Yahoo’s heyday, and the company will need to find a way to differentiate itself and provide value to users in a crowded and competitive market. Only time will tell if Yahoo can rise once again.
