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Mirabilis was the name of the Israeli company that produced ICQ, a popular instant messenger. Mirabilis was founded in 1996 by the four Israelis Arik Vardi, Yair Goldfinger, Sefi Vigiser and Amnon Amir, and was purchased by AOL less than two years later.
Funding for Mirabilis came from Yossi Vardi, the father of founder Arik Vardi, and other investors. A businessman, the elder Vardi funded Mirabilis when no others would. He traveled frequently promoting Mirabilis and was known for publicly stating the company's revenue goal was zero[citation needed].
ICQ grew virally as friends would encourage their friends to join so they could communicate with each other. This established a powerful network effect as prospective users strongly preferred the system where their friends were likely to be.
Despite Mirabilis having no revenue[citation needed], AOL paid over $287 million in cash (and $400 million overall) to buy it on June 8, 1998. AOL ran ICQ and AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) as independent products, which helped to create an illusion of a competitive marketplace. Mirabilis is now owned by Time Warner.
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