A9’s Udi Manber Reportedly Going to Google
A9’s CEO (and last year’s Drilling Down keynoter), Udi Manber, who famously told me "local search is not a solved problem," is apparently leaving for Google, according to John Battelle.
This is obviously a blow to A9 and raises a big question about its future in my mind. It’s got lots of innovative features but almost no consumer traction.
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Here’s Battelle’s updated post about it.
There are even more questions about A9’s status with today’s press release about Barnaby Dorfman, VP of Local Search for A9, also switching over to Peerflix as VP of Product. Peerflix positions itself as an online peer-to-peer (P2P) service that allows members to legally trade DVDs.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060207005437&newsLang=en
Dorfman left a little while ago apparently. I had heard this rumor several weeks ago.