Quixey

Quixey was a mobile search engine and technology company focused on "functional search," which aimed to allow users to directly access specific features within apps rather than just searching for apps themselves. Founded in 2009 and based in Mountain View, California, Quixey sought to index the "deep web" of apps, enabling users to search for actions or functions, such as "order pizza" or "edit photo," and be directly linked to the relevant part of an app that could fulfill that request.

The company raised significant venture capital funding and partnered with various smartphone manufacturers and other companies to integrate its search technology. Quixey's approach was based on understanding the semantic meaning of user queries and matching them to corresponding functionalities within apps. This was in contrast to traditional app store search, which typically relied on keywords and app descriptions.

Ultimately, Quixey faced challenges in achieving widespread adoption and commercial success. The company struggled to scale its indexing technology effectively and compete with established search engines and app store ecosystems. Quixey ceased operations in 2017.