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A wave of staffers, including two high-level execs, have recently left Quixey after the well-funded mobile startup missed its holiday quarter revenue targets, according to multiple sources.
Quixey, which began as a search engine for apps, shifted its focus last year to in-app advertising products, but has fallen short of sales expectations, these sources said. That has pushed the company to shake up its leadership. Both CTO Sudhir Mohan and COO K. Guru Gowrappan have departed their roles in recent months. Multiple mobile industry sources said current Quixey staffers have been out interviewing for new positions.
A spokesman for Quixey confirmed Mohan’s departure, but said that Gowrappan will remain actively involved with the company as “executive advisor.” The rep would not comment on the company’s revenues.
“We’re constantly evaluating our workforce to ensure alignment with our strategy and product plans,” CEO Tomer Kagan said in an email. “We’re looking forward to an exciting 2016 and are focusing on high impact priorities that align with customer requirements.”
Mohan and Gowrappan did not immediately return requests for comment.
A year ago, Quixey raised $60 million from several high-profile investors, including Alibaba and Softbank, pegging its valuation at around $600 million, as Re/code reported. Several sources said that a substantial chunk of Quixey’s business has recently shifted to Alibaba and other Asian clients.
Founded in 2009, Quixey started with tools for consumers to find apps, then added features that connected content within and between apps, called deep linking. Quixey is among a handful of startups working on this central problem for mobile devices — including URX, Button and Branch Metrics — but is the most-funded of the bunch.
Meanwhile, Google has pushed aggressively into app indexing, deep linking and mobile app advertising. In September, Quixey introduced a feature called “Deep View Cards” that allow advertisers to run and track mobile ads within apps.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
