Powerset

San Francisco, United States Founded: 2006 • Age: 20 yrs Acquired By Microsoft
AI-enabled keyword based search-engine

About Powerset

Powerset is a Technology company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2006, and was acquired by Microsoft in June 2008. AI-enabled keyword based search-engine. Powerset has raised $12.5 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Microsoft, Foundation Capital and Founders Fund. Its focus areas include Consumer, Search Engines, Keyword Based Search Engines and High Tech. Its competitors include Google, Elastic and Primer; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.

Company details

AI-enabled keyword-based search-engine. The platform enables users to search for data by using keywords and the system uses natural language processing algorithm to understand the meaning of semantic meaning behind the search and provide optimized search results for users.

Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $12.5M (USD)

    in 2 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $8M (USD), Debt – Conventional

    Jan 2007

  • Investors
    Microsoft

    & 4 more

  • Acquired by
    Microsoft

    (Jun 2008)

Funding Insights of Powerset

Powerset has successfully raised a total of $12.5M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Debt – Conventional round of $8 million completed in January 2007. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $12.5M
  • Total Rounds 2
  • Last Round Debt – Conventional β€” $8M
  • First Round $12.5M

    (Nov 2006)

  • Investors Count 4

All 2 funding rounds of Powerset with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Jan 2007$8MDebt – Conventional––
–
Nov 2006$12.5MSeries A––
Valuation history

5 investors in total: 5 institutional.

Investors in Powerset

Powerset has secured backing from 5 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Microsoft, Foundation Capital and Founders Fund.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Venture capital firm focused on early-stage fintech, enterprise, web 3, consumer, and multiple sectors
1995foundationcapital.comPalo Alto, United States
Venture capital investments in technology and defense sectors.
foundersfund.com
Investment management and philanthropic ventures linked to Bezos Expeditions.
bezosexpeditions.com
Investments in technology startups are made by Felicis Ventures.
felicis.comMenlo Park, United States
Microsoft is recognized for software, hardware, and gaming solutions.
1975microsoft.comRedmond, United States
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Investor details for Powerset

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Timeline of Powerset

4 dated milestones of Powerset across 2 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Powerset is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $12.5M.
  3. Funding Latest funding round, Debt – Conventional, of $8.0M.
  4. Exit Acquired by Microsoft.

Competitors of Powerset

Powerset has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Google, Elastic and Primer.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
google.com1998Mountain View, United States$34.02M183,323
A technology company offering products and services, including search engine, cloud computing, advertising, email, productivity software, and more
elastic.co2012Mountain View, United States$104M3,187
Cloud based text analytics platform
primer.ai2015San Francisco, United States$222.7M194
AI based text summarization and contextualization software tool
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Detailed competitors of Powerset

The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.

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  • Operating metrics
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Web traffic of Powerset

Websites that share an audience with Powerset (powerset.com).

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Powerset. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
mahalo.com
mahalo.com
100%
–
ringofsaturn.com
ringofsaturn.com
78%
–
bing.com
76%
3.5B#10View details
hakia.com
76%
14.9K#2,907,828View details
cuil.com
cuil.com
76%
–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
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All 21 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Powerset

The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.

  • 21 similar websites
  • Audience overlap
  • Engagement analytics
  • Traffic by brand

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Top companies in Search, Discovery & Knowledge Tools

3 companies that operate in the same segment as Powerset (Search, Discovery & Knowledge Tools) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Citation-based AI answer engine with real-time sourcing is operated.
2022San Francisco, California, United StatesUSD 1.72 B1,401
A technology company offering products and services, including search engine, cloud computing, advertising, email, productivity software, and more
1998Mountain View, California, United StatesUSD 34.02 M
Keyword-based private search engine for user privacy is provided online.
2008Paoli, Pennsylvania, United StatesUSD 113 M
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Related news about Powerset

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Complete news archive for Powerset

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Frequently Asked Questions about Powerset

Powerset was founded in 2006.

Powerset is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.

Powerset is a funded company, having raised a total of $12.5M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $12.5M, raised on Nov 2006.

AI-enabled keyword-based search-engine. The platform enables users to search for data by using keywords and the system uses natural language processing algorithm to understand the meaning of semantic meaning behind the search and provide optimized search results for users.

Powerset's top competitors include Google, Primer and Elastic.

Powerset has 5 investors. Key investors include Microsoft, Foundation Capital, Founders Fund, Bezos Expeditions, and Felicis Ventures.

Yes. Powerset was acquired by Microsoft in June 2008.

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