Failed 2017
Quixey
App search engine sounded revolutionary but users just use the App Store. Alibaba lost $100M.
Founded → Closed
2009 → 2017
Funding Raised
$165M
Industry
Search/Mobile
Country
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
58/100
Market Fit Risk
20
Burn Rate Risk
70
Founder Risk
25
Full Analysis
Quixey built a search engine for apps — helping users find mobile applications by function rather than name. Alibaba invested $100M+ hoping to integrate app search into its ecosystem. But Apple's App Store and Google Play already dominated app discovery, and users didn't need a third-party search engine. Quixey shut down in 2017.
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Quixey.