LookSmart (NASDAQ: LOOK) is a search advertising network and management solutions company based in San Francisco. LookSmart provides search advertising products and services to text advertisers, as well as targeted pay-per-click search and contextual advertising via its Search Advertising Network. For publishers seeking to create their own branded vertical advertising networks, LookSmart also licenses and manages search ad networks using its award-winning AdCenter platform. LookSmart is one of the five founding members of the IAB Click Measurement Panel.

Inception

LookSmart was founded in Melbourne in late 1995 (it was originally called Homebase) and was majority-owned by Reader's Digest, who had aspirations to develop a female- and family-friendly portal to supplement their legacy magazine business. After leadership and strategy changes at Reader's Digest, the company was bought back by founders Evan Thornley and Tracy Ellery, along with Martin Hosking. During 1997, the company sought venture capital funding, and on several occasions came close to the financial brink. Venture capital funding from Australian and US sources was obtained in 1997 and 1998, and the company relocated its head office to San Francisco.

Deal with Microsoft

Recognizing the difficulty of building a consumer-oriented brand, LookSmart built a new strategy around licensing its search directory to a wide range of portals and internet sites. A significant amount of Looksmart's revenue stemmed from a lucrative licensing deal with Microsoft, signed in 1998, to provide directory and listing services.