MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Quixey, The Search Engine for Apps, has raised a $50 million Series C round led by Alibaba Group. GGV Capital joined the round along with existing investors Innovation Endeavors, TransLink Capital and US Venture Partners in the U.S., as well as Atlantic Bridge in London and Dublin and WI Harper in Beijing. The company has now raised $74.2 million to date.
"Next year, 95% of the world's population will have mobile access, and by 2016 people will use 1.5 billion smart mobile devices. Quixey is at the epicenter of this brave new world, and this investment will ensure that we continue to expand globally," said Tomer Kagan, CEO and co-founder at Quixey. "Apps have moved from novelty to a major factor in purchasing decisions for consumers and we've only just started to scratch the surface of what they can do."
Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. Since its inception, it has developed leading businesses in consumer e-commerce, online payment, business-to-business marketplaces and cloud computing, reaching Internet users in more than 240 countries and regions.
"Innovation is at the heart of Alibaba's culture, so backing entrepreneurs who are developing forward-thinking technology is what we love to do," said Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman at Alibaba. "Quixey has a great vision for the future and a fantastic team to see it through."
"Consumer adoption of smartphone devices and applications across the Android and iOS ecosystems is changing the game on a global basis," said Jeff Richards, Partner at GGV Capital. "The Quixey team has an incredible vision for the role that search will play in the mobile ecosystem, and we are thrilled to be part of such a dynamic company."
The additional funds will be used to further develop Quixey's market leading Functional Search™ technology, which allows users to find apps by describing what they want to do, and will also be used to strengthen Quixey's deep roster of talented employees.
"Building user-centric products is what Quixey is about. We should be the starting point for every mobile device," said Guru Gowrappan, EVP, Product and Marketing at Quixey. "We give users a more natural way to search for the things that makes their lives easier. That's the core of our Functional Search technology and the core of the company."
