America Online is shifting development of the popular AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) software to it's subsidiary ICQ Israel. Ynet News
reports:
ICQ Israel will soon be responsible for the software development of AOL instant messenger, or
AIM, following a recent decision by the company.
ICQ Israel has already begun preparing for the shift, although the company has not announced intentions of hiring additional staff at this time.
In 1998, AOL spent over $400 million on the purchase of Mirabilis, the Israeli company that produced ICQ two years earlier. After the purchase, ICQ continued to run its international activities from Israel, as a subsidiary of AOL.
In turn, AOL continued to run AIM and
ICQ as independent instant messaging products, although the company’s decision means both products will be developed by ICQ Israel.
ICQ Israel currently has about 100 employees in Israel, half of which work in development.