Answers.com, formerly known as WikiAnswers, is an
Internet-based knowledge exchange
A knowledge market is a mechanism for distributing knowledge resources. There are two views on knowledge and how knowledge markets can function. One view uses a legal construct of intellectual property to make knowledge a typical scarce resource, ...
. The Answers.com domain name was purchased by entrepreneurs
Bill Gross and Henrik Jones at
idealab Idealab (formerly known as idealab!) is a startup studio based in Pasadena, California, U.S.A.
History
Idealab was founded by Bill T. Gross (not to be confused with the founder of PIMCO, Bill H. Gross) in March 1996. Prior to Idealab, Gross founde ...
in 1996. The domain name was acquired by NetShepard and subsequently sold to GuruNet and then AFCV Holdings. The website is now the primary product of the Answers Corporation. It has tens of millions of user-generated questions and answers, and provides a website where registered users can interact with one another.
History
GuruNet was founded in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
during 1999 to develop technology that intelligently and automatically integrates and retrieves information from disparate sources and delivers the result in a single consolidated view to the user. GuruNet initially displayed its information through a downloadable software product, today known as
1-Click Answers. The product was launched as a free product in 1999. Beginning in 2003 it was sold to users on a
perpetual license base and later as an annual subscription.
During October 2004, GuruNet had an
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
American Stock Exchange
NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...
(AMEX) under the symbol "GRU" and also acquired the Answers.com domain name early the same year for $80,000.
During January 2005, the company began a new business model of free-to-customer product. Answers.com and
1-Click Answers software, containing practically all the content that was sold via subscriptions. The new model was based on generating advertising revenue.
On August 2, 2005, the company's shares started trading on
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
instead of AMEX under the symbol "ANSW".
On October 17, 2005, GuruNet changed its corporate name to Answers Corporation, unifying the company's name and its website, Answers.com.
From 2005 to late 2009, the
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
search engine definitions feature, in the top-right corner of the site, was linked to Answers.com.
On July 2, 2006, Answers.com released a trivia game known as
blufr
Blufr was an online trivia game launched on July 2, 2006. It was later made defunct.
Gameplay
Players had to decide if statements – called blufs – are true ('way') or false ('no way'). After they chose their answer the correct answer was th ...
.
In November 2006, Answers.com acquired the question and answer site FAQ Farm. Following the acquisition, the product was renamed WikiAnswers.
In the fall of 2009, Answers.com launched a revamped version of their website that fully integrated WikiAnswers.
At
Jeff Pulver
Jeff Pulver is an American Internet entrepreneur and futurist known for his work as an innovator in the field of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Pulver's early work in VoIP with his company Free World Dialup led to a significant regulatory ...
's 140 Characters Conference in New York City in April 2010, Answers.com launched its alpha version of a
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
-answering service nicknamed 'Hoopoe.' When tweeting a question to the site's official Twitter account, @AnswersDotCom, an automatic reply is given with a snippet of the answer and a link to the full answer page on Answers.com.
Aside from providing community-generated Q&A and reference information for published titles, Answers.com began offering videos as part of its VideoAnswers library, in July 2010. This was part of a partnership with video site 5min.
In September 2010,
blufr
Blufr was an online trivia game launched on July 2, 2006. It was later made defunct.
Gameplay
Players had to decide if statements – called blufs – are true ('way') or false ('no way'). After they chose their answer the correct answer was th ...
was relaunched as an iPhone/iPod Touch app with new design, game modes, and social features.
It was announced in November 2010 that the Answers.com Q&A wiki community reached its 10 millionth answer.
At the start of 2011, the site surpassed 11 million answers. Shortly after, on February 3, Answers.com announced in a press release that it had agreed to be acquired by AFCV Holdings for $127 million in cash. AFCV Holdings, LLC, is a portfolio company of growth equity investor
Summit Partners
Summit Partners is an American private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm focuses on investing in technology, healthcare, life sciences and other growth industries.
Background
Summit Partners was founded in 1984 by Roe St ...
.
Bob Rosenschein
Robert S. "Bob" Rosenschein is an American-Israeli internet entrepreneur. He was founder, Chairman and CEO of Answers.com, formerly GuruNet, until May 2011, when it was bought by Summit Partner's AFCV Holdings for $127 million. His latest s ...
was quoted: "The acquisition price of $10.50 per share represents a significant cash premium of approximately 33% over our 90-day volume-weighted average closing stock price."
On April 23, 2012,
TA Associates
TA Associates, founded in 1968, is one of the early modern-era private equity firms in the United States. The firm leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies. TA invests across five industry groups: technology, hea ...
announced that it was joining as an additional private investor in Answers.com and on May 1, 2012, laid off the remaining development staff in the Jerusalem office as a first step in fully assimilating the company.
On August 8, 2012, reports surfaced that Answers.com had reached a preliminary agreement to acquire
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
from
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City.
History
The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...
for $270 million of debt and equity.
However, it was thwarted by
IAC, who countered with a $300 million "clean cash" offer.
On December 23, 2013, Answers.com acquired ForeSee Results, Inc., a customer experience & customer survey analytics company based in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, USA. Answers.com proceeded to lay off between 50 and 75 employees one month after the acquisition, followed by another 100 layoffs 18 months later.
In August 2014,
Apax Partners
Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of December 2017, the firm, including its ...
acquired Answers Corp. for $900 million. The terms of the deal were that Apax would own 91% of the company while Answers’ founders and management team will own the remaining 9% stake.
In March 2017, Answers.com parent company, Answers Corp, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
As of May 3, 2018, Answers.com abandoned their wiki format, according to Chris Hawkins, Vice President, Business Operations. The entire user database was purged, and users can no longer edit questions or answers on the site; however, the site's content will remain available to read.
In October 2019, Answers.com re-launched
user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...
enabling new user registrations, questions, multiple answers, reactions, and comments.
In September 2020, Answers.com launched native iOS and Android apps focused on Homework Help Q&A
In May 2022, Answers.com was purchased by System1
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Answers.Com
Internet properties established in 1999
Online companies of the United States
Question-and-answer websites
Software companies of Israel
Websites which mirror Wikipedia
1999 establishments in Israel