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Yandex

technology Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Yandex is a massive technology company based in Russia.

Yandex Logo
Yandex Logo

It provides many different internet services for people to use. Its most famous product is the Yandex Search engine. This tool helps people find information on the web. In Russia, it holds about 72% of the search market. Worldwide, it holds a 2.8% market share. The company also runs Yandex Taxi, which is the largest ridesharing service in Russia.

Yandex main office
Yandex main office

This company works in many different ways to help users. It offers a web browser to view different websites. It uses web mapping to show people where they are going. People can also use it for online food ordering and shopping. The company even provides streaming media for music and videos. They have built smart speakers called Yandex.Station to help at home. They even tested self-driving cars in Moscow. They also created YandexGPT, which is a neural network. A neural network is a computer system that acts like a brain.

Yandex main office, Moscow, under construction 20240901 113940
Yandex main office, Moscow, under construction 20240901 113940

The story of Yandex began with two friends in the 1990s. Arkady Volozh met Ilya Segalovich in high school. In 1990, they decided to work together on search software. They originally called their project Arcadia. They chose the name Yandex in 1993. This was a pun on "Yet Another iNDEXer." It also used the Russian word "ya," which means "I." They launched their first search engine on September 23, 1997. They showed it at a big exhibition in Moscow.

Yandex Logo
Yandex Logo

Many big events and numbers shaped the company's history. In 2000, the company was officially incorporated in Cyprus. Baring Vostok Capital Partners bought a 35.72% stake for $5.28 million in 2000. In 2011, Yandex had a huge initial public offering on NASDAQ. This was the biggest for a dot-com company since Google in 2004. The company raised $1.3 billion during that time. Later, in 2014, they bought the website Auto.ru for $175 million. In 2021, they bought a stake in a self-driving division for $1 billion.

Yandex main office
Yandex main office

You might recognize Yandex tools if you use the internet. Many people use web browsers or maps every single day. Yandex is like a digital toolbox for many tasks. It connects to things like music, food, and even cars. Even though it is a Russian company, it has worked in many places. They opened offices in Ukraine, Turkey, and Israel. They even had an office in China. They continue to grow and change how people use technology.

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File:Yandex main office.jpg
Yandex main office.jpg
File:Yandex logo en.svg
Yandex logo en.svg
File:Yandex Logo.svg
Yandex Logo.svg
File:Yandex main office, Moscow, under construction 20240901 113940.jpg
Yandex main office, Moscow, under...
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