"Though Summly's own Web site once said: "SRI International, with the help of the Summly team, built the summarization technology behind Summly," we are told that D'Aloisio "invented" the product's original technology."
"And indeed, inside Yahoo, Summly is called "Yahoo's Siri."
"Further, D'Aloisio deserves credit for outsourcing technology development and app development to the right firms, and coalescing their work into a product that made him millions."
He's either really smart to set up the right branding and licensing deals, really lucky to have made the perfect business relationship for a future acquisition, or was set up by someone in the know for a fat payday. My guess is all three. Lucky kid.
[1]: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-marissa-mayer-bought-a-30...
In unrelated news, Yahoo also voted today to approve the final compensation for its executive team. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s outgoing CEO, stands to make $186 million from the sale. During her five-year tenure as CEO, she made a number of dubious moves, like a $1.1-billion acquisition of Tumblr and paying a teenager $30 million for an app with no underlying technology or code.[1]
[1] https://www.yahoo.com/tech/verizon-finalizes-yahoo-acquisiti...