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- AOL
AOL Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
AOL was acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.5B in October 2025, a 3.0x multiple on $500M of revenue.
AOL revenue at acquisition
$500M
Last twelve months · Oct 2025
AOL revenue multiple at acquisition
3.0x
EV/Revenue · Oct 2025
AOL EBITDA multiple at acquisition
3.8x
EV/EBITDA · Oct 2025
About AOL
AOL is an American online media company that offers AOL Lifestream, a web application for managing social media comments, statuses, and interactions across multiple networking platforms from a single interface.
Founded
1985
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Advertising
Revenue
$500M (Oct 2025)
Valuation
$20B (Dec 2005)
AOL Acquisition
AOL was acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.5B on 29 October 2025.
The acquisition price implies a 3.0x revenue and 3.8x EBITDA multiple on $500M of revenue.
Before the acquisition AOL had raised $30M across 2 funding rounds.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 2025 | Strategic M&A | $1.5B | 3.0x | 3.8x |
AOL Valuation
AOL is currently valued at $20B, based on its strategic investment round in December 2005. Read the announcement ↗
The round included Alphabet.
AOL valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2005 | Strategic investment | $20B |
AOL Funding History
AOL has raised a total of $30M across 2 funding rounds.
AOL's first fundraising round was a $30M strategic investment round in January 1992. The most recent completed round was a strategic investment round in December 2005.
AOL funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2005 | Strategic investment | Alphabet | - | $20B | Google agreed in December 2005 to invest $1 billion for an effective 5% equity interest in AOL, the internet division of Time Warner. The investment was made through a Time Warner subsidiary that would hold all of AOL's equity, which made Google AOL's only outside shareholder, while Time Warner kept management control. Google received certain minority shareholder protections, along with the right after about two and a half years to require registration of its shares. The agreement expanded an existing advertising alliance in which Google's search and advertising services would be used across AOL properties. Definitive agreements were signed in March 2006 and the investment closed in the second quarter of 2006. |
| Jan 1992 | Strategic investment | Vulcan Capital | $30M | - | Paul Allen, acting through his Vulcan investment vehicle, invested $30 million in America Online in 1992, when the Virginia-based online service was still a small internet service provider. The Microsoft co-founder held the position for about two years and was reported to have made a profit of roughly $70 million on it by 1994. The investment came as AOL was building its dial-up subscriber base in competition with CompuServe and Prodigy, using the capital to fund software distribution and network capacity. The deal was one of Allen's first technology investments after he left day-to-day work at Microsoft and before the formal launch of Vulcan Ventures as an active venture investor. America Online was a consumer online service offering internet access, e-mail, chat and content for a monthly subscription fee, led by Steve Case. It later merged with Time Warner in 2001. Further terms of the 1992 investment were not published. |
Who has invested in AOL?
2 investors have backed AOL across its funding rounds, including Alphabet and Vulcan Capital.
AOL Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by AOL
AOL has acquired 11 companies to date.
Last acquisition by AOL was on April 1st 2016. AOL acquired Nito for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by AOL
| Description | Nito is a real-time facial animation app using patent-pending mapping technology. The platform captures user expressions via webcam for instant control of 3D avatars in video calls, gaming, and social interactions. Nito supports custom characters from popular media for role-playing and communication. | AlephD is a Paris-headquartered technology provider that delivers real-time bidding optimization for digital publishers using predictive algorithms trained on billions of auction logs. Its platform analyzes impression-level data thousands of times per second to select optimal selling strategies, boosting RTB revenues by up to 30 percent. Publishers leverage AlephD's tools to compete equally with demand-side platforms in the open auction market. Founded in 2012, the company integrated into Criteo's ecosystem following its 2017 acquisition, serving global clients with big data infrastructure supporting high-volume ad inventory sales. | Millennial Media is a mobile advertising network connecting brands with over 1 billion monthly active users through its Atlas platform for targeted campaigns on iOS and Android apps. The company delivers video, native, and interstitial ad formats, serving clients like Procter & Gamble and Unilever alongside app developers such as Rovio. Acquired by AOL in 2015 and later integrated into Verizon Media, Millennial Media processes billions of ad impressions daily via real-time bidding. Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, it pioneered cross-screen attribution tools since its 2006 founding. | Kanvas Labs offers a mobile app for building micro-social networks tied to real-world events. Users capture videos using stop-motion cameras, photos, GIFs, and edits with stickers, text, drawings, and music before sharing to private groups or platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. | |
| HQ Country | |||||
| HQ City | New York City, NY | Paris | Baltimore, MD | New York City, NY | |
| Deal Date | 1 Apr 2016 | 25 Jan 2016 | 3 Sep 2015 | 31 Aug 2015 | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | $238M | undisclosed | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all AOL acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |||||
Investments by AOL
AOL has invested in 4 companies to date.
Latest investment by AOL was on December 21st 2017. AOL invested in Holisto in their $2M Seed round.
Latest Investments by AOL
| Description | Holisto is a Tel Aviv-headquartered travel technology company providing an AI-powered hotel booking platform. The system aggregates real-time rates from hotel operators, online travel agencies, wholesalers, and global distribution systems. Proprietary Split & Match technology breaks down and reassembles options to deliver personalized packages with optimized pricing. Launched for leisure and business travelers, it serves users across Europe and the Middle East. | Crunchbase is a San Francisco-headquartered platform aggregating data on over four million private companies for investors, analysts, and sales teams. It offers search tools, company profiles with funding history, Crunchbase Scout for prospecting, and API integrations for CRM enrichment. The service tracks mergers, acquisitions, and executive moves across tech, healthcare, and consumer sectors. | - | Docady is a free personal document management service automatically organizing and categorizing user files. It scans, tags, and stores papers digitally for easy retrieval, supporting household records, receipts, and contracts via web and mobile access. | |
| HQ Country | |||||
| HQ City | Rishon LeZion | San Francisco, CA | Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | |
| Deal Date | 21 Dec 2017 | 6 Apr 2017 | 16 Mar 2016 | 26 Aug 2015 | |
| Round | Seed | Series B | Seed | Seed | |
| Raised | $2M | $18M | $2M | $2M | |
| Investors | Cockpit Innovation; Techstars; BIP Ventures | Felicis; Emergence Capital; Cowboy Ventures; Mayfield Fund | Explore Ventures; 2B.VC; StageOne Ventures | InsurTech.vc; Pitango VC; Eilon Tirosh | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all AOL investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |||||
AOL Competitors
AOL competitors include listed companies like Doximity and DeNA, and private ones like NAVER Z, Mighty Networks, Luffa and MeWe.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | $22M | - | $251M | 11.4x | ||
| Private | - | - | $220M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $200M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $645M | $229M | $5.8B | 7.7x | ||
| Publicly listed | $934M | $174M | $1.5B | 1.1x |
AOL Public Comps
AOL is no longer listed, but its public comps include DeNA, Weibo, mixi, Newborn Town, Webtoon, Trump Media & Technology Group, RUM Group, Bumble, Yalla Group and Nextdoor.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $934M | $174M | 1.1x | 1.1x | 5.9x | 6.7x | |||
| $1.8B | $644M | 0.5x | 0.5x | 1.4x | 2.0x | |||
| $1.1B | $215M | 0.9x | 0.9x | 4.8x | 4.8x | |||
| $958M | $144M | 1.2x | 0.9x | 8.1x | 5.3x | |||
| $1.4B | ($373M) | 0.6x | 0.6x | (2.1x) | 32.6x | |||
| $4M | ($723M) | 320.2x | - | (1.6x) | - | |||
| $101M | ($78M) | 23.4x | 10.4x | (30.3x) | (47.6x) | |||
| $966M | ($793M) | 1.3x | 1.5x | (1.6x) | 4.7x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all AOL competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about AOL
| When was AOL founded? | AOL was founded in 1985. |
| Where is AOL headquartered? | AOL is headquartered in New York City, NY, United States. |
| Is AOL publicly listed? | No, AOL was acquired by Bending Spoons in October 2025. |
| Who acquired AOL? | AOL was acquired by Bending Spoons in October 2025. |
| How much was AOL acquired for? | AOL was acquired for $1.5B in October 2025, a 3.0x revenue multiple. |
| What is AOL's valuation? | AOL was last valued at $20B in its strategic investment round in December 2005. |
| How much funding has AOL raised? | AOL has raised $30M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was AOL's last funding round? | AOL's last funding round was a strategic investment round in December 2005. |
| Who are AOL's investors? | AOL's investors include Vulcan Capital and Alphabet. |
| Which companies are comparable to AOL? | Companies comparable to AOL include NAVER Z, Mighty Networks, Luffa, MeWe, Doximity and DeNA. |
| How many companies has AOL acquired? | AOL has acquired 11 companies, including Nito, AlephD, Millennial Media, Kanvas Labs and velos. |
| What was the largest acquisition by AOL? | The $164B acquisition of WarnerMedia in January 2000 is the largest acquisition AOL has made to date. |
| How many companies has AOL invested in? | AOL has invested in 4 companies, including Holisto, Crunchbase, Shoppimon and Docady. |
| What was AOL's last investment? | In December 2017, AOL invested in Holisto's $2M seed round alongside Cockpit Innovation, Techstars and BIP Ventures. |
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