A Cuil $200 Million
Remember Cuil? No, not “quill,” “cool” as spelled by . . . I don’t know, monkeys. Perhaps I’m the only one having trouble remembering the latest, much-hyped not-quite-Google-killer because I was still in the hospital (here’s why) when it launched (although I did guest blog about Cuil at Bruce Clay, and I still managed to forget what Cuil was…).
Even if Cuil’s launch didn’t go over so well, they lost VP Louis Monier and they aren’t getting traffic, Cuil founders still have a reason to laugh all the way to the bank: a $200 million valuation according to PE Data Center.
Heck, it makes me want to laugh, too. VentureBeat adds some perspective by comparing Cuil’s finances to Powerset’s:
Silicon Valley semantic search engine Powerset commanded a valuation of $40.5 million in its first round, which was considered very high at the time. It failed to meet investor expectations, and sold for $100 million to Microsoft, giving investors somewhat more than a two-fold return.
But Cuil doesn’t offer the same semantic technology as Powerset, so it’s difficult to see how it would get more than a $100 million acquisition offer anytime soon. By valuing Cuil at $200M, it makes it extremely difficult for investors to get a return.
Well, I guess maybe the bubble’s still here.
(via. But I thought of that title all by myself. Am I not clever?)
Pilgrim’s Partners:
Source:
A Cuil $200 Million
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