Metaweb
 |
This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (September 2011) |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Data management |
| Fate | acquired (by Google in July, 2010) |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder(s) | Danny Hillis, Robert Cook |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Key people | Kurt Bollacker,Chief Scientist Danny Hillis,Chairman Thomas Layton, CEO[1] Robert Cook, EVP, Product Development John Giannandrea, CTO |
| Products | Freebase — an online database |
| Website | www.metaweb.com |
Metaweb Technologies, Inc. was a United States company based in San Francisco that developed Freebase, described as an "open, shared database of the world's knowledge". The company was founded by Danny Hillis in July, 2005, and operated in stealth mode until 2007. Metaweb was acquired by Google in July, 2010[2]. Although Metaweb no longer exists as a separate corporate entity, Freebase and its associated website freebase.com continue to be provided as an open database under Metaweb's original CC-BY licensing terms.
Contents |
[edit] Funding
On March 14, 2006, Metaweb received $15 million in funding. Investors included: Benchmark Capital, Millennium Technology Ventures, and Omidyar Network.[3] Kevin Harvey of Benchmark Capital is a member of Metaweb's board of directors. On January 15, 2008, Metaweb announced a $42.5 million Series B round led by Goldman Sachs and Benchmark Capital.[4]
[edit] Acquisition
On July 16, 2010, Google acquired Metaweb for an unspecified sum.[5]
[edit] See also
- Radar Networks — developers of semantic web applications for the general public
- DBpedia - community effort to extract semantic information from Wikipedia
- Web 2.0
- Semantic Web
[edit] References
- ^ Metaweb announces hiring of Thomas Layton, CEO
- ^ "Metaweb joins Google" (Press release). Metaweb. 2010-07-16. http://blog.freebase.com/2010/07/16/metaweb-joins-google/. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^ "Metaweb Technologies, Inc. Receives $15 Million of Financing From Benchmark Capital, Millennium Technology Ventures and Omidyar Network" (Press release). Benchmark Capital. 2006-03-13. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-14-2006/0004319555. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
- ^ Metaweb Raises $42.5 Million led by Goldman Sachs and Benchmark Capital (company press release)
- ^ Deeper Understanding with Metaweb (company press release)
[edit] External links
- Metaweb Technologies, Inc. — company homepage
- Freebase — Metaweb's online database
- Freebase Blog
