Kaltix Corporation[1] was a personalized search engine company founded at Stanford University in June 2003 by Sepandar Kamvar, Taher Haveliwala and Glen Jeh.[2][3][4] It was acquired by Google in September 2003.[5][6][7]

Kaltix Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInternet, search engine
FoundedJune 16, 2003; 21 years ago (2003-06-16), in Palo Alto, California, U.S.
FounderTaher Haveliwala, Glen Jeh, Sepandar "Sep" Kamvar
FateAcquired by Google
Key people
Sep Kamvar (CEO)
ParentGoogle

Description

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Kaltix was a startup company that was formed to commercialize personalized web search technology[4] by utilizing a set of proprietary algorithms. The company had developed a system to speed up the computation of Google's PageRank algorithm and personalize search results by sorting them according to the interests of the individual instead of the consensus approach developed by Google.[8][9] It was claimed by the founders of the company that the algorithm offered a way to compute search results nearly 1,000 times faster than what was possible using current methods in 2003.[8][10][11]

History

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Kaltix was based on the work of Sep Kamvar, Taher Haveliwala and Glen Jeh, who were alumni from Stanford University and participants of their alma mater's PageRank Project as graduate students from 2002 to 2003.[3][12][13] The project's aim was to advance the PageRank algorithm, developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the co-founders of Google.[3][4] Their collective efforts resulted in the development of three algorithms: Quadratic Extrapolation, BlackRock and Adaptive PageRank.[14][15][16] Together, the algorithms formed the foundation of Kaltix.[17]

The first algorithm was presented in a paper to the 12th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW 2003) in Budapest, Hungary on May 22, 2003.[14][18][19] Kaltix Corp was later established on June 16, 2003, and the trio published their business plan and purchased the Kaltix domain name the same day.[17][20] Just three months after the company's founding, on September 30, 2003, Kaltix was acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum.[6]

Reception

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Kaltix was initially met with excitement and mystery by both technology writers (including The New York Times) and the technology industry as a whole.[7][21] Enthusiasm for the potential of personalized search results obtained up to five times faster than Google was accompanied by speculation due to the lack of public information about the company at the time.[3][22][23][24][25] Since its founding and acquisition by Google, Kaltix has been noted for its significance due to its impact towards the development of personalized search.[26][27][28][29][30]

References

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  1. ^ "Kaltix Corporation". OpenCorporates. 2003-01-01. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  2. ^ "scientific-contributions".
  3. ^ a b c d Olsen, Stefanie. Search for the personal touch. CNET.com. August 11, 2003.
  4. ^ a b c PageRank Project. pagerank.stanford.edu.
  5. ^ Olsen, Stefanie. Academia's quest for the ultimate search tool. CNET.com. August 15, 2005.
  6. ^ a b Google Acquires Kaltix Corp. Google. September 30, 2003.
  7. ^ a b Technology Briefing - Internet: Google Buys Web Search Company. New York Times. October 1, 2003.
  8. ^ a b Kaltix to Beat Google? Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Rank for Sales. August 12, 2003.
  9. ^ Google Acquires Kaltix. Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. September 30, 2003.
  10. ^ Chai, Winston. Scientists propose Google speed boost[permanent dead link]. ZDNet.com via Google Web Cache. May 27, 2003. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  11. ^ Researchers Develop Techniques For Computing Google-style Web Rankings Up To Five Times Faster; Speed-Up May Make 'Topic-Sensitive' Page Rankings Feasible. Science Daily. May 14, 2003.
  12. ^ PageRank Team Publications. pagerank.stanford.edu.
  13. ^ Personalized Search Publications List Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. kamvar.org.
  14. ^ a b Kamvar, Sepandar, Taher Haveliwal, Christopher Manning and Gene Golub. Extrapolation Methods for Accelerating PageRank Computations. Stanford InfoLab Publication Server. February 27, 2003. Last Modified December 24, 2008.
  15. ^ Kamvar, Sepandar, Taher Haveliwal, Christopher Manning and Gene Golub. Exploiting the Block Structure of the Web for Computing PageRank. Stanford InfoLab Publication Server. March 3, 2003. Last Modified December 24, 2008.
  16. ^ Kamvar, Sepandar, Taher Haveliwal and Gene Golub. Adaptive Methods for the Computation of PageRank. Stanford InfoLab Publication Server. April 27, 2003. Last Modified December 24, 2008.
  17. ^ a b Haveliwala, Taher, Glen Jeh and Sep Kamvar. Kaltix Business Plan[permanent dead link]. Stanford FTP Database via Google Cache. June 16, 2003.
  18. ^ Hart, David. Researchers develop ways to compute faster Google-style web rankings. Stanford Reporter. May 21, 2003.
  19. ^ WWW 2003 Programme. www2003.org.
  20. ^ Kaltix Domain Registration Information. networksolutions.com. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  21. ^ Mernit, Susan. Kaltix: From spin-out to Google purchase in 45 days. SusanMernit.com. September 30, 2003.
  22. ^ Sullivan, Danny. The Search Engine Update - Number 155. Search Engine Watch. August 17, 2003.
  23. ^ Moore, Cathleen. Google grabs search start-up. Inforworld. September 30, 2003.
  24. ^ Google Acquires Kaltix, Looks to Personalize Search. SEO Logic. September 30, 2003.
  25. ^ Levene, Mark. An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation. John Wiley & Sons via Google. October 18, 2010.
  26. ^ Langville, Amy and Carl Meyer. Google's PageRank and Beyond: The Science of Search Engine Rankings. Princeton University Press via Google, p 51.
  27. ^ Tyrsina, Radu. What Companies Have Google, Apple and Facebook Bought so Far?. Technically Personal. February 1, 2012.
  28. ^ Linden, Greg. Personalized Search Primer Archived 2012-05-27 at the Wayback Machine. ReadWriteWeb. August 6, 2007.
  29. ^ Macmanus, Richard. Interview with Sep Kamvar Archived 2012-08-25 at the Wayback Machine. ReadWriteWeb. August 9, 2007.
  30. ^ Orlowski, Andrew. Google buys search engine: PageRank RIP?. The Register. September 30, 2003.
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