Microsoft Acquires Revenue-Sharing Consumer Search Engine, JellyFish.com

“Search engines are great for finding information, but we think you also need a search engine that is perfect for when you want to buy something online.”
-Jellyfish’s homepage.

Not too long ago Yahoo! announced a redesign for their search engine and now I discovered that Microsoft acquired Jellyfish, a search engine that encourages consumerism. Jellyfish is based in Madison, Wisconsin. Jellyfish will most likely be integrated into the e-commerce features of Windows Live Search.

There’s also a social networking component of Jellyfish. The homepage displays a list of other shoppers that are online. And over 1,000 stores are accounted for under Jellyfish’s search results including Circuit City, Target, Home Depot and Barnes & Noble.

The more that users shop on Jellyfish, the more cash they get back. Jellyfish shares advertising revenue with users as they spend more with certain retailers. Right now it is unknown whether Microsoft will continue to maintain Jellyfish’s advertising revenue-sharing model within Windows Live Search. The official announcement is expected to be made soon.

About a year ago, Jellyfish raised $5 million Series B funding from Kegonsa Capital Partners and Clyde Street Investments LLC. The company has about 20 employees and the financial details were undisclosed.

[Information Source: LiveSide]

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