Laserlike
AcquiredPalo Alto, US · Founded 2015 · Delaware corporation · 1 known investors
Laserlike built a personalized "interest search engine" for news and web content; acquired by Apple, reported March 2019.
Also known as Laser Like · LaserLike · Laserlike Inc.
Founders & leadership
Laserlike was founded in 2015 by Srinivasan Venkatachary and Anand Shukla.
Board
Investors · 1
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$24.1M disclosed across 2 rounds · 2015–2016
▶$20MraisedDec 2016 · 20 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Michael L. SpeiserExecutive Officer, Director
- Anand ShuklaExecutive Officer
- Srinivasan VenkatacharyExecutive Officer, Director
- Steven BakerExecutive Officer
- Satish DharmarajDirector
- Offering amount
- $21M
- Amount sold
- $20M
- First sale
- Nov 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$4.2MraisedSep 2015 · 22 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Srinivasan VenkatacharyExecutive Officer, Director
- Anand ShuklaExecutive Officer
- Rene BonvanieDirector
- Michael L. SpeiserExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $5M
- Amount sold
- $4.2M
- First sale
- Sep 2015
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Laserlike was a startup founded by former Google engineers that developed a personalized "interest search engine." Its app surfaced news, web pages, video and other content matched to a user's stated interests, making it easier to follow topics over time.
The company described its core mission as delivering high-quality information and diverse perspectives on any topic drawn from the entire web, and as helping people follow their interests and engage with new perspectives. Its work was associated with artificial intelligence and personalization technology.
In March 2019, The Information reported that Apple had acquired Laserlike, an acquisition an Apple spokesperson confirmed. Coverage linked the deal to Apple's expanding artificial intelligence and machine learning efforts, then led by John Giannandrea, and to a news subscription service Apple was reported to be preparing for a March 25 event, noting potential applications in Siri, Apple News, Apple Music and the TV app.
Founding story
Laserlike was founded by former Google engineers Anand Shukla, Srinivasan Venkatachary and Steven Baker, described in March 2019 reporting as having been established four years earlier.
Latest developments
Reporting dated March 13, 2019 stated that Apple had recently acquired Laserlike and that an Apple spokesperson confirmed the deal.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history
Market position
Laserlike was positioned as a consumer personalized content discovery and interest-following service, and was viewed by observers as strategically relevant to Apple's artificial intelligence efforts and news subscription plans.
Technology
Laserlike's product was described as an "interest search engine" that used artificial intelligence and personalization to retrieve and rank news, web, video and other content on topics a user chose to follow.
Go-to-market
Consumers seeking to follow news and other content on topics of personal interest.
History
Founded by three ex-Google engineers, Laserlike developed and released an app for following personalized interest topics across news, web and video content. In March 2019 The Information reported, and Apple confirmed, that Apple had acquired the company. At the time of the acquisition report, Laserlike stated on its website that personalization would remain at the core of its work.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsApple acquired Laserlike, as reported by The Information and confirmed by an Apple spokesperson. The acquisition was reported in the context of Apple's renewed AI focus under John Giannandrea and its planned news subscription service; Laserlike's technology was described as potentially applicable to Siri and apps such as Apple News, Apple Music and the TV app.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Apple buys up Laserlike, an ex-Googler founded AI startup focused on following news topics - 9to5Mac9to5mac.com · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Laserlike do?
- Laserlike built a personalized "interest search engine" for news and web content; acquired by Apple, reported March 2019.
- Who founded Laserlike?
- Laserlike was founded by Srinivasan Venkatachary, Anand Shukla in 2015.
- Who are Laserlike's investors?
- Laserlike's investors include Redpoint Ventures.
- How much funding has Laserlike raised?
- Laserlike has disclosed $24.1M raised across 2 rounds.
- Where is Laserlike headquartered?
- Laserlike is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.