{{Infobox company | name = Masterseek | logo = masterseek logo.png | logo_size = 260px | type = Private | traded_as = | foundation = Denmark (1999) | founder = Rasmus Refer | location_city = New York City | location_country = {{nowrap|United States}} | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Rasmus Refer <small>(Co-Founder, CEO)</small><br />Jørgen Trygved <small>(Co-Founder)</small> | industry = Internet<br>Computer software | products = B2B Search Engine | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | num_employees = | subsid = Accoona | homepage = {{URL|http://www.masterseek.com/}} }}
'''Masterseek Corp.''' is a B2B (business-to-business) search engine founded in Denmark in 1999.<ref name="hartzer"/>
Masterseek now encompasses 175 million business profiles, 346 million websites, and 450 million contacts of which 216 million are LinkedIn members thus making Masterseek the largest commercial database in the world.
==Founding== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File: Rasmus refer.png|thumb|150px|left|Rasmus Refer]] --> Masterseek was founded in Denmark by Rasmus Refer in 1999.<ref name="hartzer"/> Their Denmark headquarters is located at Bredgade 29, DK-1260 Kbh. K, and they also have a current headquarters in New York City, at 82 Wall Street.<ref name="csc"/>
According to its executives, Masterseek utilizes a business model based on an annual business subscription fee of USD $149, in return for which subscribers receive full editing control over their corporate profile, content and advertising, and control over widgets and embedded video, among other factors.<ref name="betaversion"/>
==Finances== As of June 2008, accountancy firm Horwart International had approximated the raw market value of the Masterseek company at $150 million.<ref name="investors"/> The company remains privately owned, but also in June 2008, it sold 10% of its authorized stocks to a range of foreign investors.<ref name="investors"/> The company announced on January 31, 2009 that they company was again offering a limited number of shares for sale in order to raise $4–6 million in order to gain a listing on the Swedish marketplace AktieTorget. Founder Refer also announced there were plans for an IPO.<ref name="ipo"/> By October 2009, they had signed with the Swedish-based company Thenberg & Kinde Fondkommission AB for financing.<ref name="seochat"/>
==Statistics== In June 2008, the company stated it had 50 million company profiles, from over 75 countries, and handled 90,000 B2B searches daily.<ref name="hartzer"/><ref name="ipo"/><ref name="strengthen"/> The company stated they had 82 million profiles on March 21, 2011, with an average of 300,000 new profiles added monthly.<ref name="betaversion"/>
In 2017, the company stated it had more than 178 million company profiles.
==Acquiring Accoona==
On October 30, 2008, it was announced that Masterseek had acquired the B2B search engine Accoona.<ref name="hartzer"/><ref name="paidcontent"/>
The search engine had been fairly successful in the United States and China,<ref name="search"/> where it had an exclusive partnership with ''China Daily''.<ref name="accoonnaddead"/> On August 3, 2006, ''TIME'' had dubbed Accoona one of its "50 best websites," illustrating how the search engine used artificial intelligence to "understand" the meaning of keyword queries.<ref name="coolest"/> Accoona had run into difficulties and gone defunct by early October 2008, withdrawing its IPO.<ref name="accoonnaddead"/> making it possible for Masterseek to acquire their data and technology.
After Masterseek bought the remaining search engine codes, domain name, and assets,<ref name="hartzer"/> Accoona was integrated with Masterseek, and re-launched in the USA and China. It was launched in Europe in January 2009.<ref name="search"/> Accoona information was also integrated into the Masterseek search engine.<ref name="hartzer"/>
==Technology== The Masterseek search engine relies on web crawlers that automatically collect and sort company details from the internet.<ref name="strengthen"/> Searches can look up company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services. Searches can be global, national, regional, or involved local markets. Hits are listed by relevance according to search terms. There are different search options, including a specific product search, company searches, and people searches. Results can be displayed in most languages.<ref name="seochat"/> The search engine also offers MasterRank, a point system for ranking corporate websites.<ref name="Bussinessweek"/>
==Sponsorships== On July 5, 2007, Masterseek announced they were cosponsors to Team CSC, Denmark's cycling team, beginning with the team's involvement in the Tour de France. The Masterseek name began to be displayed on the team's apparel that week, with the Tour's start in London.<ref name="csc"/>
==Management== *Rasmus Refer - Founder and Director
==See also== *Accoona *B2B *Search engines
== References == {{reflist|2| refs =
<ref name="Bussinessweek">{{cite magazine |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=29327873 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213122659/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=29327873 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 13, 2009 |title=Masterseek Corp. |magazine=Businessweek |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="coolest">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1222614,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819180431/http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1222614,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 19, 2006 |title=50 Coolest Websites: 2006 |last=Buechner |first=Maryanne |date=August 3, 2006 |magazine=TIME |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="strengthen">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/26/idUS149456+26-Jun-2008+MW20080626 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114075557/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/26/idUS149456+26-Jun-2008+MW20080626 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2012 |title=Global Business Search Engine to Strengthen Its Advertising Network for B2B Search |date=June 26, 2008 |work=Reuters |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="investors">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/27/idUS85249+27-Jun-2008+MW20080627 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114075610/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/27/idUS85249+27-Jun-2008+MW20080627 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2012 |title=Search Engine is Looking for Strategic Investors |author=Masterseek |date=June 27, 2008 |work=Reuters |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="accoonnaddead">{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/10/dead-search-engine-accoona-officially-dead |title=Dead Search Engine Accoona Officially Dead |last=Krangel |first=Eric |date=October 3, 2008 |website=Business Insider |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="hartzer">{{cite news |url=https://www.billhartzer.com/pages/b2b-search-engine-accoona-acquired-by-masterseek/ |title=B2B Search Engine Accoona Acquired by Masterseek |last=Hartzer |first=Bill |date=November 5, 2008 |publisher=BillHartzer.com: Search Engine Marketing |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="search">{{cite news |url = http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/081105-115108 |title = Accoona Acquired by Masterseek |last = Johnson |first = Nathania |date = November 5, 2008 |publisher = Search Engine Watch |accessdate = 2011-05-08 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090413002705/http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/081105-115108 |archivedate = April 13, 2009 }}</ref>
<ref name="paidcontent">{{cite news |url=http://paidcontent.org/article/419-almost-dead-search-engine-accoona-bought-by-denmarks-masterseek/ |title=Almost-Dead Search Engine Accoona Bought by Denmark's Masterseek |last= |first= |date=November 2008 |publisher=Paid Content |accessdate=2011-05-08 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
<ref name="ipo">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/31/idUS85625+31-Jan-2009+MW20090131 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114005615/http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/31/idUS85625+31-Jan-2009+MW20090131 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2012 |title=Masterseek.com Is Planning for an IPO |first= |date=January 31, 2009 |work=Reuters |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="seochat">{{cite news |url=http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Search-Engine-News/Masterseek-a-Global-Business-Search-Engine/ |title=Masterseek: a Global Business Search Engine |last=Morgan |first=KC |date=October 27, 2009 |publisher=SEOchat |accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref>
<ref name="betaversion">{{cite news |url=http://www.wiredprnews.com/2011/03/21/masterseek-expeced-to-release-beta-version-of-search-engine-continue-dominance-in-business-to-business-search_2011032117895.html |title=Masterseek Expected to Release Beta Version of Search Engine |last= |first= |date=March 21, 2011 |publisher=WirePRNews |accessdate=2011-05-08 |archive-date=2011-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324143606/http://www.wiredprnews.com/2011/03/21/masterseek-expeced-to-release-beta-version-of-search-engine-continue-dominance-in-business-to-business-search_2011032117895.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="csc">{{cite news |url=http://www.global-business-profiles.com/masterseek-cosponsors-team-csc/ |title=Masterseek Cosponsors Team Csc |last= |first= |date=May 4, 2011 |publisher=Global Business Profiles |accessdate=2011-05-08 |archive-date=2012-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323235112/http://www.global-business-profiles.com/masterseek-cosponsors-team-csc/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.masterseek.com/}} *[https://twitter.com/masterseek_tw1 Masterseek] on Twitter
Category:Internet search engines Category:Web service providers Category:Software companies established in 1999 Category:Internet properties established in 1999 Category:Online companies of Denmark Category:1999 establishments in Denmark