Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Garrett Gruener and David Warthen

THEN: Ask Jeeves Founders (1996)
NOW: Venture Capitalist; Jiles Co-founder

Advertisement

In 1996, Garrett Gruener and David Warthen brought personality to the perfunctory world of search with Ask Jeeves, a natural language search engine. But ten years later, new owner IAC sent the P.G. Wodehouse-inspired valet into permanent retirement to make way for the more simplified Ask.

dot-com-second-lives.gif

sai-25-prev.gifsai-25-next.gif

Gruener stepped down as Chairman in 2003, when he ran for governor in the California recall election. He finished 28th out of 135 candidates, well behind the likes of Ariana Huffington, Peter Ueberroth, Gary Coleman and Larry Flynt. Today, Gruener is a director at Alta Partners, a venture capital firm he co-founded in 1996.

After dabbling in video games, a Ph.D. program at Berkeley (he withdrew early) and other tech ventures, Warthen is currently working on a new search startup -- code name Jiles. “Search is a fairly young industry,” he said in a phone call to SAI. “There are opportunities for innovation within special market segments. It doesn’t have to be a Google-killer.” The startup recently closed Series A financing and has a TBD launch date.

JeevesJiles.jpg

Jeeves (1996) and Jiles (2008)
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account