Yandex LLC is a Russian technology company that provides Internet-related products and services including a web browser, search engine, cloud computing, web mapping, online food ordering, streaming media, online shopping, and a ridesharing company. Yandex Search is the largest search engine in Russia with an estimated 72% market share in Russia and a 2.8% market share worldwide. Yandex Taxi is the largest ridesharing company in Russia.
๐ Founding and Early Years
Yandex was founded by Arkady Volozh and launched its first product, a search engine, in 1997. In 1990, Arkady Volozh contacted Ilya Segalovich to join his venture developing algorithms to search Russian texts. They developed search software together under the company name Arcadia. In 1993, they invented the name “Yandex” as an easy way to remember “Yet Another iNDEXer”. On 23 September 1997, the Yandex.ru search engine was launched and presented at the Softool exhibition in Moscow.
๐ Growth and Expansion
In 1998, Yandex launched contextual advertisement on its search engine. In 2000, Yandex was incorporated in Cyprus as a standalone company. The company became profitable in 2003. In September 2005, Yandex opened an office in Ukraine and launched a Ukrainian website. In June 2008, Yandex announced the formation of Yandex Labs in Silicon Valley. In January 2009, Firefox 3.5 replaced Google with Yandex as the default search provider for Russian-language builds.
๐ป Product Launches and Acquisitions
In September 2010, Yandex launched Yandex Music, a music streaming service. In October 2012, Yandex launched a Chromium-based web browser. In October 2013, the company acquired KinoPoisk, the biggest Russian movie search engine. In June 2014, the company acquired Auto.ru for $175 million. In October 2017, the company introduced its intelligent personal assistant, Alisa. In 2018, the company launched Yandex Games, an Internet gaming platform.
๐๏ธ Corporate Changes and Recent Events
In November 2019, the company was forced by the Russian government to undergo a corporate restructure, giving more influence to pro-Kremlin board members. In July 2024, Nebius Group sold its Russian assets to a group of Russian investors for a discounted price of US$5.3 billion. In June 2022, Volozh resigned as CEO and from the board of directors. In May 2023, Yandex launched YandexGPT, a neural network analogous to the ChatGPT neural network.
| Year | Event | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Yandex search engine launched | 2011 | IPO on NASDAQ raised $1.3 billion |
| 2000 | Incorporated in Cyprus | 2017 | Introduced Alisa personal assistant |
| 2003 | Company became profitable | 2023 | Launched YandexGPT |
| 2007 | Reincorporation of holding company in Netherlands | 2024 | Russian assets sold for $5.3 billion |