Verizon acquired AOL in 2015 for about $4.4 billion, obtaining its advertising technology and digital-media properties.
AOL began as America Online, an internet-access service that became one of the most recognizable consumer internet brands in the United States during the 1990s. Its later business included media brands such as The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Engadget, as well as advertising technology operations.
Verizon said the acquisition would support a larger mobile-video and digital-advertising strategy. In 2017, Verizon combined AOL with Yahoo, which it had also acquired, under a new subsidiary called Oath. The AOL transaction is therefore often confused with the separate Yahoo acquisition. Verizon later sold its media assets to Apollo Global Management in 2021, and the business was rebranded as Yahoo.