In a Search Refinement, a Chance to Rival Google
Miguel Helft, New York Times, February 8, 2007
From the article:
...The start-up, Powerset, is licensing PARC’s “natural language” technology — the art of making computers understand and process languages like English or French. Powerset hopes the technology will be the basis of a new search engine that allows users to type queries in plain English, rather than using keywords.
In the fall, Powerset raised $12.5 million in its first round of financing from venture-capital firms and individual investors. The challenges facing it are immense, and the odds of success are long. But the PARC technology, which is a result of 30 years of research, is certain to lend it an aura of credibility.
PARC’s natural-language technology is among the “most comprehensive in existence,” said Fernando Pereira, an expert in natural language and the chairman of the department of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. But by itself, it will not guarantee Powerset’s success, Mr. Pereira said.
“The question of whether this technology is adequate to any application, whether search or anything else, is an empirical question that has to be tested,” Mr. Pereira added.
As part of the deal, a leading natural-language researcher at PARC, Ronald M. Kaplan, will join Powerset’s staff of about 40 as chief technology and scientific officer. PARC will also receive an equity stake in Powerset and earn royalties from the company. Additionally, Powerset will sponsor a handful of researchers at PARC.
The specific financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. But Mark Bernstein, president and center director of PARC, said: “It’s one of the biggest deals that we have done, and we hope that it grows into the biggest in terms of the length of the relationship and the amount of value we can create together. It represents a commitment of some of the intellectual crown jewels that PARC has created.”
...In Silicon Valley and beyond, PARC has often been called the lab of missed opportunities. It has been credited with many breakthroughs, including the graphical user interface and the Ethernet networking technology, that have revolutionized the computer industry, but that were commercialized by others.
“There’s no way anyone can top what they did in the past in terms of dramatic research developments,” said the futurist Paul Saffo, a fellow at the Institute for the Future. But Mr. Saffo praised PARC for finding a business model that has allowed it to survive at a time when many research groups at American corporations are being cut.
“This is an organization that has done well at keeping researchers, and spinning out a steady stream of little products,” Mr. Saffo said. “PARC has been a very quiet success.”
The success of its bet on Powerset is another matter. Over the past year, PARC researchers have worked with Powerset engineers to build a prototype, but the company does not expect to release its search engine to the public until the end of this year...
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