Graphiq
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGraphiq was a semantic-technology company that used artificial intelligence and structured data to produce interactive visualizations and comparison-oriented research tools.
Last updated August 25, 2026
Overview
Graphiq was a Santa Barbara–based semantic-technology company founded in 2009 as FindTheBest. Its central idea was to make factual research more direct and visual by combining a large structured database with comparison interfaces, filters, ratings, and automatically generated interactive charts. In this respect, the company positioned itself between a conventional search engine and review or comparison services: rather than simply returning links, it attempted to organize information into a usable research experience. The company was established by Kevin J. O’Connor, Scott Leonard, and Brayton Johnson. O’Connor had previously been chief executive and co-founder of DoubleClick. FindTheBest launched publicly in 2010 with comparison categories covering areas such as health, education, business, and sports. Its initial model relied on free consumer research sites supported by advertising. Users could compare products, services, institutions, and other entities through structured tables and visual tools, while listings could be added or edited subject to company review. FindTheBest expanded its database and product portfolio during the early 2010s. FindTheData.com launched in 2011, and the company added the AssistMe feature in 2012. International sites followed in Spain, South Korea, and New Zealand in January 2013, with Germany and the United Kingdom added later that year. FindTheHome, a real-estate research service, launched in 2014. By May 2014, the company reported approximately 23 million monthly visits and employed about 110 people. Funding came from the founders and venture investors. The founders initially invested $750,000 each, followed by a $2 million investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in December 2010. Kleiner Perkins invested a further $4 million in 2011, and the company later raised an $11 million Series B round from New World Ventures, Montgomery & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and others. The company had raised approximately $32 million in total venture funding by 2013, according to the cited reference material. In August 2015, FindTheBest rebranded as Graphiq Inc. and shifted emphasis toward data visualization and publishing tools. At that point, the company described its database as containing roughly one billion entities, 120 billion attributes, and 25 billion relationships. Graphiq Search gave publishers and other users access to a large library of interactive visualizations, while Graphiq Feed and Graphiq Plugins were designed to support the incorporation of visual data into digital articles and other online content. Its visualizations were used by publishers including AOL, MSN, International Business Times, and Hearst Newspapers. Reuters announced a partnership with Graphiq in 2016, followed by an expanded collaboration between Graphiq and the Associated Press later that year. Amazon acquired Graphiq in May 2017 for an estimated $50 million, although the transaction value was not officially established in the supplied reference material. Following the acquisition, Graphiq announced that its features for news publishers would no longer be available after July 21, 2017. The discontinuation marked the end of Graphiq as an independent operating brand, while its technology and personnel became part of Amazon’s broader assets.
History
Graphiq originated in 2009 under the name FindTheBest. It was founded by Kevin J. O’Connor, Scott Leonard, and Brayton Johnson, with O’Connor bringing prior experience as a co-founder and chief executive of DoubleClick. The founders initially funded the company themselves, investing $750,000 each. FindTheBest publicly launched in 2010 as a comparison and research site with nine initial categories, including health, education, business, and sports. The company sought to organize information into structured comparisons rather than relying on ordinary keyword-search results. Its sites assembled data from public and private sources and presented entities in visual tables with filters, ratings, and comparison tools. Consumers could use the services without paying, while advertising supported the business. The company also permitted users to add or edit listings, although submitted changes were reviewed before publication. FindTheBest expanded its services during the early 2010s. FindTheData.com was introduced in 2011, and the AssistMe feature followed in 2012. In January 2013, the business began international expansion with sites for Spain, South Korea, and New Zealand. German and British sites were launched in April 2013. A real-estate research site, FindTheHome, was added in 2014. By May of that year, the company reported 23 million monthly visits and a workforce of roughly 110 people. Investment supported this expansion. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers invested $2 million in December 2010 and another $4 million in 2011. FindTheBest subsequently raised an $11 million Series B round from New World Ventures, Montgomery & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and other investors. The company reportedly had raised $32 million in venture funding by 2013. FindTheBest also became involved in a patent dispute during 2013 and 2014. The company contested claims associated with a patent claimant it described as a patent troll and pursued litigation of its own. Courts and fee proceedings produced mixed procedural outcomes, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that FindTheBest won attorney fees and later obtained another fee award against the patent claimant. In August 2015, FindTheBest changed its corporate brand to Graphiq Inc. The new identity emphasized semantic technology, artificial intelligence, and the automated creation of interactive data-driven infographics. Graphiq described its underlying database as containing approximately one billion entities, 120 billion attributes, and 25 billion relationships. Its consumer research sites remained part of the business, but the company increasingly targeted online publishers and journalists. Graphiq Search gave users access to a substantial library of interactive visualizations. Graphiq Feed and Graphiq Plugins were intended to help publishers use those visualizations in digital content. The company’s publisher customers and partners included AOL, MSN, International Business Times, Hearst Newspapers, Reuters, and the Associated Press. Reuters announced a visualization partnership in August 2016, while the Associated Press announced an expanded collaboration in October 2016. Amazon acquired Graphiq in May 2017. The acquisition ended Graphiq’s independent corporate trajectory. During the transition, the company announced that publisher-facing features would no longer be available after July 21, 2017. The available reference material does not establish the extent to which Graphiq’s technology, staff, or data products were integrated into Amazon after the shutdown of the independent services.
- 2017
Amazon acquires Graphiq
[1]Amazon acquired Graphiq, after which the company’s publisher features were scheduled for discontinuation.
- 2016
Media partnerships expand
[1]Reuters and the Associated Press announced partnerships or expanded collaborations involving Graphiq visualizations.
- 2015
FindTheBest rebrands as Graphiq
[1]The company adopted the Graphiq name and launched a new publisher-oriented visualization-tool strategy.
- 2014
FindTheHome launches
[1]The company expanded into real-estate research with FindTheHome.
- 2013
International expansion begins
[1]Localized services launched in Spain, South Korea, and New Zealand, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.
- 2011
FindTheData launches
[1]The company introduced FindTheData.com as an additional data-research service.
- 2010
FindTheBest launches publicly
[1]The comparison and research service launched with nine categories, including health, education, business, and sports.
- 2009
FindTheBest is founded
[1]Kevin J. O’Connor, Scott Leonard, and Brayton Johnson founded the company that later became Graphiq.
Products and positioning
A research engine and semantic data-visualization platform positioned between general-purpose search engines and review or comparison websites. Graphiq emphasized structured information, automated visualizations, and tools that allowed publishers to embed data-driven graphics in digital content.
Semantic search and data visualization
Graphiq Search
Graphiq Search was the company’s principal visualization-search product for consumers, publishers, and journalists. It provided access to a large library of interactive charts and data views generated from Graphiq’s structured database. Users could explore subjects through visual comparisons and filtering rather than relying solely on conventional search-result pages. The product was part of Graphiq’s effort to make data-rich research directly usable in online content.
Publisher data tool
Graphiq Feed
Graphiq Feed was a publisher-facing product designed to help digital media organizations use Graphiq data and visualizations in their content. It belonged to the company’s broader transition from consumer comparison sites toward infrastructure and tooling for online publishers. The available reference material identifies the product as part of the publisher suite but does not specify its detailed technical implementation.
Publisher embedding tool
Graphiq Plugins
Graphiq Plugins enabled publishers and other online content creators to incorporate interactive visualizations into webpages and articles. The tools extended Graphiq’s database beyond its own research sites and supported the company’s partnerships with news organizations. Publisher-facing Graphiq features were announced for discontinuation after July 21, 2017, following the Amazon acquisition.
Consumer comparison and research service · 2010
FindTheBest
FindTheBest was the original consumer-facing brand and research-engine concept from which Graphiq developed. It offered vertically organized comparison sites for topics such as health, education, business, sports, products, and services. Information was displayed in structured tables with filters and ratings, and the service was funded primarily through advertising rather than consumer subscription fees.
Data research website · 2011
FindTheData
FindTheData was introduced as a dedicated research site within the FindTheBest portfolio. It reflected the company’s attempt to make public and private data easier to browse through structured comparisons and visual interfaces. The supplied material does not provide enough information to describe its later operating history separately from the wider Graphiq transition.
Real-estate research website · 2014
FindTheHome
FindTheHome was Graphiq’s real-estate research service, launched as the company broadened its vertically organized research sites. It applied the FindTheBest model of structured information and comparison to housing and property-related research. The available reference material does not identify a separate successor or continuing service after Amazon’s acquisition.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Reuters visualization partnership
International
Graphiq worked with Reuters to deliver interactive visualizations to Reuters customers.
Outcome. The partnership increased Graphiq’s visibility as a data-visualization supplier for professional news publishing.
- 2016Associated Press visualization collaboration
United States
The Associated Press expanded its collaboration with Graphiq to pair interactive visualizations with AP text content.
Outcome. The collaboration reinforced Graphiq’s strategy of distributing data graphics through established news organizations.
- 2015Graphiq rebrand and publisher-tools launch
United States
The company changed its name from FindTheBest to Graphiq and promoted a new identity centered on semantic technology, interactive infographics, and tools for publishers.
Outcome. The rebrand shifted attention toward publisher and media use cases, although the independent Graphiq business was later acquired by Amazon.
Brand decisions
2017
Amazon acquisitionM&ABackground
Graphiq had developed a large structured database and a set of interactive visualization products for consumers and publishers.
Action taken
Amazon acquired Graphiq in May 2017.
Aftermath
Graphiq announced that its publisher features would be unavailable after July 21, 2017, as the transition to Amazon proceeded.
Estimated acquisition value. $50 million (May 2017)
2017
Discontinuation of publisher featuresStrategyBackground
Following Amazon’s acquisition, Graphiq’s independent publisher-facing product operation was being transitioned.
Action taken
Graphiq announced that its news-publisher features would no longer be available after July 21, 2017.
Aftermath
The announcement effectively ended the availability of the independent publisher product suite.
2015
Rebrand from FindTheBest to GraphiqStrategyBackground
The company had expanded from comparison websites into semantic data systems and tools for publishers.
Action taken
It adopted the Graphiq name and emphasized artificial intelligence, interactive infographics, and publisher products.
Aftermath
The company pursued media partnerships and publisher distribution before being acquired by Amazon in 2017.
Recent events
- 2017
Amazon acquires Graphiq[1]
M&A
Amazon acquired Graphiq in May 2017. The reported transaction value was approximately $50 million, according to the cited reference material.
- 2017
Graphiq ends publisher features during Amazon transition[1]
Product generation
Graphiq announced that its publisher-facing features would no longer be available after July 21, 2017, as the business transitioned following Amazon’s acquisition.
- 2016
Reuters partners with Graphiq on interactive visualizations[1]
Campaign
Reuters announced a partnership intended to provide customers with a suite of interactive visualizations based on Graphiq’s data technology.
- 2016
Associated Press expands collaboration with Graphiq[1]
Campaign
The Associated Press announced an expanded collaboration with Graphiq to pair interactive visualizations with AP text content.
- 2015
FindTheBest becomes Graphiq[1]
Campaign
FindTheBest rebranded as Graphiq Inc. and introduced a publisher-focused suite of data-visualization tools.
- 2014
FindTheBest prevails in patent-fee dispute[3]
Lawsuit
The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that FindTheBest won attorney fees in its patent litigation, followed by a later fee award against the opposing patent claimant.
- 2013
FindTheBest raises Series B funding[2]
Other
FindTheBest raised an $11 million Series B round from New World Ventures, Montgomery & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and other investors.
- 2013
FindTheBest challenges a patent troll in court[5]
Lawsuit
FindTheBest pursued legal action in response to a patent dispute involving a company it characterized as a patent troll. The matter generated multiple procedural developments and later rulings concerning attorney fees.
Sources5 sources
- 1Graphiqen.wikipedia.org
- 2Data-Driven Comparison Shopping Platform FindTheBest Raises $11Mtechcrunch.com
- 3FindTheBest Wins Attorney's Fees in Patent Troll Fighteff.org
- 4Meet the A.I. Startup That's Whipping Up Infographics for Thousands of Newspapers in the U.S.inc.com
- 5FindTheBest 在法庭上挑战专利流氓arstechnica.com
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