Ness Computing

About Ness Computing

Ness Computing was a personal search and recommendation engine company founded in October 2009 by Corey Reese, Paul Twohey, Nikhil Raghavan, and Steven Schlansker. The company's mission was to personalize search by combining a recommendation engine with a traditional search engine, a technology it called the "Likeness Engine". This engine analyzed user preferences, ratings, and social data to provide tailored recommendations for dining, nightlife, and entertainment.

The company's flagship product was the Ness Dining App for iPhone, which acted as a personal search tool for restaurants. It delivered recommendations based on a user's ratings and preferences, factoring in time, location, price, and cuisine. Users could also view menus and make reservations through integrations with SinglePlatform and OpenTable, respectively. The app was often compared to Pandora or Netflix for its personalized approach to restaurant discovery.

Ness Computing was backed by venture capital firms including Khosla Ventures, Alsop Louie Partners, TomorrowVentures, and Bullpen Capital. It raised a $5 million Series A round in November 2010 and a $15 million Series B round in August 2012, with investors like Singtel Innov8 and American Express Ventures participating. The company was headquartered in Los Altos, California.

In February 2014, OpenTable acquired Ness Computing for approximately $17.3 million in cash. Following the acquisition, the Ness app and website were discontinued as the team of eleven employees was integrated into OpenTable to incorporate the 'Likeness Engine' technology into OpenTable's platform.