// startup autopsy
Quixey
The app search engine that raised $167.5M from Alibaba to index the world's apps — then shut when Alibaba decided it didn't need them anymore
acquisition gone wrongSudden Collapse
Unexpected shutdown within weeks of a trigger · Fatal mistake: Single Strategic Investor Dependency
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 2017 |
| Country | USA |
| Sector | Saas |
| Raised | ~$167M USD |
| Founder | Quentin Hardy |
40%
25%
Key Events Timeline
2009
FOUNDING
2009-01
FUNDING
Quixey founded in Mountain View by Quentin Hardy and Uri Baruchin. The company builds technology to search content inside mobile apps, enabling users to find information within applications rather than just app store listings. Early funding from Y Combinator and angel investors. The 'app search' category is nascent.
2014
FUNDING
2014-09
FUNDING
Alibaba leads a $127.5M funding round in Quixey — Alibaba's largest investment in a US company at the time. Alibaba's strategic rationale: Quixey's app search technology could power app discovery in Alibaba's competing app store in China. Total Quixey funding reaches approximately $167.5M. The company grows to 185 employees.
2015
CRISIS
2017
SHUTDOWN
2017-02
SHUTDOWN
February 2017: Quixey shuts down completely and lays off approximately 185 employees. Alibaba's strategic priorities had shifted; the expected deep integration of Quixey's technology into Alibaba's app ecosystem did not materialize. With Alibaba as the primary institutional backer and no alternative investor willing to fund at the implied valuation, the company had no survival path. The app deep-linking category moves on without Quixey.
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