Viaweb
Viaweb was an online-store software company acquired by YahooYahooYahoo is an internet brand founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1994, with email, search, news, finance, sports, and advertising businesses. It developed from a web directory into a portal, underwent major acquisitions and security incidents, and sold its operating business in 2017, when the original listed company became Altaba. Apollo-managed funds acquired the brand’s operating business in 2021. Yahoo launched the AI answer service Scout in 2026.Open the full entry in 1998; its product became Yahoo Store.
Contents6 sections
Key facts
1995Founding and product
Paul Graham and Robert Morris founded Viaweb to let merchants build online stores through a browser.[1]
August 1995Early web-application demonstration
Graham identifies the Viaweb demonstration to investors that August as an early web application, while acknowledging that earlier examples may have existed.[2]
Technology: Lisp and the store editor
The store editor primarily used Lisp, while the ordering system used C. Graham viewed the language choice as a factor in rapid development.[3]
June 10, 1998Joins Yahoo
Yahoo completed the acquisition, recording a purchase price of $48.6 million.[4]
Product continuity: Yahoo Store
After the acquisition, Viaweb’s product continued as Yahoo Store.[1]