History
The alpha version of ChaCha was launched on September 1, 2006. A beta version was introduced on November 6, 2006. ChaCha said 20,000 guides had registered by year's end and that it had raised US$6 million in development funds, including support from Bezos Expeditions, a personal investment firm owned by Jeff Bezos, the entrepreneur behind Amazon.com.
By January 2008, ChaCha had 5,000 freelance guides with at least 500 working at any one time. MogoNews.com reported that ChaCha's first round of equity financing was $14 million plus a $2 million grant from 21st Century Technology Fund.
ChaCha announced on March 17, 2009 a new round of equity financing totaling US$12 million while also laying off 25 employees and reducing the 56 remaining salaries by 10 percent. The renewed investment brings total venture capital to an acknowledged $43 million, though an independent estimate places it at $58 million. A month later, co-founder Brad Bostic stepped down as company president, saying ChaCha no longer needed him for day-to-day operations. Bostic noted that the company had been struggling for profitability in the current global recession.
In July 2010, ChaCha Inc. was recognized as one of the “Hottest Companies in the Midwest” by Lead411.
In August 2011, ChaCha launched its text messaging-based service in the United Kingdom. That same month the company reported having answered over 1.7 billion questions.
On April 20, 2012 ChaCha shut down operations in the United Kingdom with only one day's notice to the UK's Guide community, the independent contractors who answered questions. The company stated the reason for ending UK operations was that "adoption rates for new price-competitive services are quite low in the UK."
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