This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.
Name:Qwiki
Quick Pitch: Qwiki is a platform that uses proprietary technology to consolidate multiple data sources on search topics into an immersive information experience.
Genius Idea: Information is easy to come by, especially on the web. A simple search for a person, celebrity, monument, restaurant or destination via a traditional search engine will return a bevy of results, albeit results that are mostly lifeless.
The Bubble Gum Simulator Wiki is an expanding wiki. Since November 23, 2018 1,798 articles have been created, 4,434,396 unique edits have been made, and 53,099 files have been uploaded. 2) Right click and select QWiki 3) OR You can hit the keyboard hotkey combination Alt+Shift+y after selecting the word 4) If it is a single word a double click would also produce desired results. Update on Features. 1) Added an Options Menu which can be accessed by clicking Extension Icon next to address bar and then clicking on.
Qwiki App
Newly launched startup Qwiki aims to reinvent the way people experience information by providing interactive video presentations that are weaved together in near real-time from multiple data sources. Qwiki currently hosts upwards of 3 million rich and immersive presentations on a variety of people, places and things.
The slick animation in each Qwiki is generated on-the-fly via data pulled from Wikipedia (for narration) and thousands of media sources. Most elements in Qwikis are interactive. So, video clips can be selected and viewed in their entirety and clicked photos will bring up slideshows. Related Qwikis, maps and timelines in Qwikis are also highly interactive.
Qwiki is merely an alpha stage product, which means what you see now is a fraction of what the service is being built to do. Qwiki is today little more than a cool interactive reference tool, but the startup is actively working on a number of products and a platform strategy that will better showcase what its technology is capable of.
In an interview with Mashable, CEO Doug Imbruce explained that Qwiki's next two products — one for social media users and the other for small businesses — are slated for release in the the first quarter of 2011. The first offering will let users create Qwikis based around their social data in aggregate, while the small business product will allow merchants to aggregate reviews from third-party sites like Yelp and turn them into Qwiki's.
These ideas are best experienced, and the company has released prototypes just for that purpose. The Qwiki on Asiate Restaurant is pulled together via Yelp data on the restaurant, the presentation on Keith Rabois is entirely comprised from LinkedIn info and the entry on Gregory Smith comes courtesy of information he's shared on Facebook. Trust us, these are must-watch Qwikis.
Qwiki for moble is also a work in progress. The startup's iPad application is the most mature of the bunch and is slated for release prior to Thanksgiving.
Even in Qwiki's limited test tube stage, you can experience the startup's impressive technology first-hand, but Qwiki's ultimate goal is to become a 'ubiquitous layer that augments the traditional web,' says Imbruce.
And before you write off Qwiki as just a visual talking version of Wikipedia, keep in mind that the startup took home the top prize at the TechCrunch Disrupt demo event earlier this year. Imbruce also tells us that Marissa Mayer, who formerly was the VP of search for Google, played with Qwiki backstage for more than an hour and was super impressed.
Qwiki has raised a seed round of $1.5 million but is currently fielding 'substantial interest from the investment community,' and is actively participating in discussions around its next round, says Imbruce.
Want to try Qwiki out? The first 1,000 Mashable readers wanting insider access to Qwiki's alpha service can do so by signing up here.
Qwiki iPhone Alarm Clock Prototype
Here's something fun. Imbruce shared the following video to highlight one of the other innovative projects in the works — a Qwiki-powered alarm clock for the iPhone.
Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark
Qwikit
BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Users |
| Launched | 24 January 2011 |
| Current status | Defunct |
Qwiki was a New York City based startup automated video production company. Qwiki released an iPhone app that automatically turns the pictures and videos from a user's camera roll into movies to share. The company's initial product, an iPad application that created video summaries of over 3 million search terms, was downloaded more than 3 million times and named by Apple as the best 'Search and Reference' application of 2011.
After integrating this technology in the Bing search engine and launching video creation tools for major publishers in cooperation with ABC News, the company launched Qwiki for iPhone, which received Apple's Editor's Choice and was mentioned as an Honoree in the 2013 Webby's in two categories. Time Inc. named Qwiki one of “10 NYC Startups to Watch” for 2013.[1] The company's investors include cofounders of Facebook, YouTube and Groupon. The co-founders of Qwiki Inc. are Louis Monier (founder of the AltaVista search engine) and Doug Imbruce.
Qwiki was acquired by Yahoo! on July 2, 2013 for a reported $50 million.[2]
Description[edit]
Qwiki launched in alpha testing mode on January 24, 2011[3][4] after winning the TechCrunch Disrupt Award in 2010.[5]
Soon after Google offered to buy Qwiki for $100-150 million which it declined.[6]
In January 2011, Qwiki raised $8 million in Series A financing, a round that was led primarily by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Other investors included Jawed Karim (co-founder, YouTube) and Pradeep Sindhu (co-founder, Juniper Networks). Institutional investors included Lerer Media Ventures, Tugboat Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. The individual investor syndicate was arranged by New York City-based Felix Investments.[7] On January 24, 2011, Qwiki launched its public alpha.[8]
In March 2011, Qwiki raised an additional $1 million from Groupon and Lightbank co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky, bringing the total raised to date to $10.5 million.[9]
Qwikip
In April 2011 Qwiki released an iPad App version of its service. The application has an additional feature not present in the web version that lets the user browse Google Maps which displays Qwiki annotations at certain points linked to content relevant to those locations.[10] Seven weeks after launch, the Qwiki App was downloaded over 500,000 times.[11]
In February 2012, Qwiki relocated to New York City from its Bay Area offices in order to be closer to major media organizations.[12]
In May 2012, Qwiki launched a new platform for bloggers and online publishers including a partnership with ABC News. The television network used Qwiki technology on ABCNews.com and GoodMorningAmerica.com [13]
In June 2012, Bing announced that it would display Qwiki videos on Bing search pages just below Wikipedia [14] and that users will be able to play Qwikis without leaving their search.[15]
In February 2013, Qwiki for iPhone launched on the App Store as Editors' Choice. The app was downloaded more than 125K times in the first 6 days after launch.[16]
In May 2013, Time Inc. named Qwiki one of '10 NYC Startups to Watch for 2013'.[17]
In July 2013, Yahoo acquires Qwiki for $50 million.[18]
In September 2014, Yahoo announced that Qwiki would close on November 1.[19]
References[edit]
Qwikinjector
- ^Amy Lombard (April 25, 2013). 'Time Inc.'s 10 NYC Startups to Watch for 2013'. Time.
- ^'Qwiki: Qwiki + Yahoo! | Yahoo'. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Sara Yin, 'Qwiki, Search Engine Funded By Facebook Co-Founder, Launches', PC Magazine, January 24, 2011 Archived October 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Alyson Shontell, 'The Site Facebook Founder Eduardo Saverin Just Invested In Is Launching To The Public Today', The San Francisco Chronicle, January 24, 2011 Archived February 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^'Qwiki Wins TechCrunch Disrupt: Information Consumption To Be Disrupted', Techcrunch.com, September 9, 2010 Archived November 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Shontell, Alyson (2013-06-19). 'Yahoo May Be Offering Video Startup Qwiki $50 Million, But That's Nothing Compared To What Google Offered'. Business Insider Australia. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
- ^Helft, Miguel. “Facebook Co-Founder Backs Start-up.” New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^Van Grove, Jennifer. “Qwiki Launches Public Alpha to Change the Way You Consume Information.” Mashable. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^Rusli, Evelyn. “Groupon Co-Founders Invest in Qwiki.” New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
- ^Thomas Houston, 'Qwiki's New App Brings A Talking Wikipedia To iPad', The Huffington Post, April 20, 2-11 Archived July 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Van Grove, Jennifer. “Qwiki for iPad Flies Past 500,000 Downloads in 7 Weeks.” Mashable. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^'' New York Times' Retrieved June 29th, 2012'. Archived from the original on 2013-12-25.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^''Techcrunch' Retrieved June 28, 2012'. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^Alyson Shontell,'Video Startup Qwiki Turns Bloggers Into News Anchors And Lands Major Search Deal With Bing', Business Insider, Retrieved June 28, 2012 Archived May 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Joanna Stern, 'Qwiki Comes to Bing: Interactive Video Format Shows Up in Search Results', ABC News, Retrieved June 28, 2012 Archived July 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Anthony Ha,'Qwiki’s New Storytelling iPhone App Was Downloaded 125K Times In Six Days', 'TechCrunch', Retrieved June 13, 2013 Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Amy Lombard,'Time Inc.’s 10 NYC Startups to Watch for 2013', 'Time Inc.', Retrieved June 13, 2013 Archived December 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^'Yahoo Acquires Qwiki For Around $50 Million'. TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
- ^Sarah Perez (September 26, 2014). 'Yahoo To Shut Down Qwiki, Yahoo Education And The Yahoo Directory'. TechCrunch.
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