AOL

Legacy consumer internet brand with a loyal base of email and content users, now repositioned under Bending Spoons following its separation from Yahoo in early 2026.

AOL, originally America Online, was one of the pioneering internet service providers of the 1990s that transformed into a major digital media and advertising technology company. After its infamous merger with Time Warner in 2001 and subsequent separation in 2009, AOL refocused its strategy on digital advertising, acquiring companies like Advertising.com, Tacoda, and most notably Millennial Media and the demand-side platform (DSP) Adap.tv, as well as the programmatic advertising platform ONE by AOL. These acquisitions positioned AOL as a significant player in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. In 2015, Verizon acquired AOL for approximately $4.4 billion, integrating it into its media and advertising division. AOL's advertising technology stack — including its programmatic platforms, publisher tools, and data management capabilities — became central to Verizon's digital advertising ambitions. In 2017, Verizon combined AOL and Yahoo into a new subsidiary called Oath, which was later rebranded as Verizon Media in 2019. In 2021, Verizon sold Verizon Media (including AOL and Yahoo) to Apollo Global Management, which rebranded the entity as Yahoo. In October 2025, Apollo (via Yahoo) announced the sale of AOL to Italian app developer Bending Spoons, with the deal closing in early 2026. Under Bending Spoons, AOL operates as a stand-alone brand once again — separated from Yahoo for the first time since 2017. The AOL brand continues as a consumer-facing web portal and email service, while its historic AdTech assets remain under Yahoo (as Yahoo's DSP, SSP, and publisher monetization tools trace their lineage directly to AOL's programmatic investments in Advertising.com, Tacoda, Adap.tv, and Millennial Media).