Yahoo! Inc. (1995–2017)

Yahoo! Inc. (1995–2017) was an American web services provider headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Founded in January 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo, and incorporated as Yahoo! Inc. in March 1995, it provided a wide range of services, including a search engine, email (Yahoo! Mail), news (Yahoo! News), finance (Yahoo! Finance), and a directory of websites. Initially conceived as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web," it rapidly grew into one of the most popular websites and internet portals in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Yahoo! played a significant role in the early development and popularization of the internet. It went public in 1996 and experienced substantial growth during the dot-com boom. The company's strategy involved acquiring numerous other businesses and diversifying its services. Key acquisitions included GeoCities, Broadcast.com, and Tumblr.

However, Yahoo! faced increasing competition from other technology companies, particularly Google, and struggled to maintain its dominance. A series of leadership changes and strategic shifts did not reverse the company's decline. In July 2016, Verizon Communications announced its agreement to acquire Yahoo!'s core internet business for $4.83 billion. The acquisition closed in June 2017.

Following the Verizon acquisition, Yahoo! Inc. was renamed Altaba Inc., becoming primarily a holding company for Yahoo!'s remaining assets, notably its stake in Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan. The core internet business acquired by Verizon was integrated into a new company called Oath, which later became Verizon Media. Verizon Media was subsequently acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2021 and rebranded as Yahoo. This entity currently operates under the Yahoo name, but it is distinct from the original Yahoo! Inc. discussed here. The period denoted by (1995-2017) represents the lifespan of the original incorporated entity before its acquisition and restructuring.