Search start-up Kosmix raises $20 million

Search start-up Kosmix announced Tuesday that it had raised $20 million in a funding round led by Time Warner.

Among the funding round's participants was former Motorola CEO Ed Zander, who will serve as an adviser to the company. The round, which also included existing investors Accel Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Dag Ventures, brings the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's total funding to $55 million.

The company also announced the beta launch of its search site, which presents specialized topic-centric search results in a "dashboard-style page."

"The site offers a 360-degree view of any topic and presents a unique mix of the best content on the Web, including news, videos, reviews, images, opinions, and communities," the company said in a statement.

The ad-supported site, which has 11 million visitors each month, aims to provide more in-depth results on topics than a simple Web search normally does.

"At Kosmix, our mission is to connect people with the information that makes a difference in their lives," Venky Harinarayan, co-founder of Kosmix, said in a statement. "As the Internet evolves, consumers want to explore everything the online world has to offer. We created Kosmix to be their guide."

(Credit: Kosmix.com)

[praaal]

well done, kosmix and the very few other companies getting funding in this economy.
-vik