ICQ

Israeli startup Mirabilis released ICQ in 1996, creating one of the world’s first widely used Internet instant-messaging platforms. ICQ popularized contact lists, online-status indicators and real-time private messaging between Internet users around the world. It helped establish the model later used by services such as AIM, MSN Messenger, Skype, WhatsApp and other modern messaging and social platforms, while its success helped ignite Israel’s Internet startup industry.