Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:YWX) subsidiary AOL has acquired Israeli search
technology start-up Nedda Inc.. The size of the deal was not disclosed.
Yedda is a web 2.0 company that has developed a semantic search engine that
can analyze questions and queries and invite the most suited surfers to
share their subjective knowledge derived from their experience and know-how
to answer the questions on Yedda's website and the sites of affiliated
companies. Yedda's search engine differs from regular text-based search
engines.
Yedda was founded in Kfar Malal in 2006. It will remain in place as a
subsidiary of AOL, which will integrate Yedda's technology in AOL websites,
the largest Internet community in the world. Yedda will also continue to
seek partnerships with other content sites and distributors around the
world.
Yedda CEO Avichay Nissenbaum said that when the deal is completed, AOL's
100 million-strong Internet community would turn Yedda into one of the
largest personal knowledge centers in the world and a primary source for
surfers seeking the experience and know-how of others.
Yedda's 20 employees have developed a semantic search engine that can
analyze questions and requests. The site invites users to post questions,
and then asks others to answer the questions or match them to existing
answers.
The site also supplies quality ratings for content. This is the first
Israeli Web 2.0 technology exit.
Yedda has raised $2.5 million since its founding in 2005.Those funds came
from private investors and Genesis Partners. The company will remain
independent after its purchase by AOL, functioning as a subsidiary working
with AOL's search division, communities and instant-messaging group.