Overview
Yandex (Russian: Яндекс) is a Russian Internet and technology group. It started with a search engine and later expanded into maps, navigation, ride-hailing, e-commerce, online advertising, cloud services, and artificial intelligence. For most of its history it was controlled by a Dutch holding company. In 2024, sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine led to a split in which the Russian business was sold and the remaining international operations were reorganised.
Name and origin
The name is traced to a wordplay. Early accounts give the phrase "Yet Another iNDEXer", a bilingual pun on the word "index" and the yin-and-yang contrast in Russian. Search technology developed in 1993 by Arkady Volozh and Ilya Segalovich, who had known each other since school, carried the name into the company's early products.
History
Launch and early years
The search site was first presented in Moscow. On 23 September 1997, the Yandex.ru search engine was launched and presented at the Softool exhibition in Moscow. The business took its present legal form later. In 2000, Yandex was incorporated in Cyprus as a standalone company. Volozh became its chief executive after leaving the CompTek group.
Advertising was central to its finances from an early stage. In 1998, Yandex launched contextual advertisement on its search engine. Contextual ads accounted for 90% of the company's revenues as of Q4 2013.
The firm reached break-even quickly. Yandex reached self-sufficiency in November 2002, six months ahead of schedule. In 2003 it paid a dividend that is often cited as the first in the history of the Russian Internet.
Public listing
On May 23, 2011, Yandex successfully listed its shares on Nasdaq. The company raised its previously announced share price from $22 to $25, raising $1.3 billion. The listing was a landmark for equity markets focused on Russian technology companies.
Diversification
Yandex built a broad set of services. In 2007 its leaders founded the Yandex School of Data Analysis, which offers a tuition-free master's program in data science. Its mapping and navigation products, as well as music and email services, widened its user base. In 2015 Yandex.Market launched delivery service Yandex.Delivery, and in 2016, Yandex.Market has become a separate company. Its ride-hailing unit is also a major player, as Yandex Taxi is the largest ridesharing company in Russia.
Sanctions-era restructuring
Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine forced a reorganisation. Sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine have forced Yandex to split into two companies — one of which oversees its revenue-generating operations in Russia and a second Amsterdam-based firm focusing on new technologies for the international market. The Dutch parent, Netherlands-registered Yandex N.V., sold its Russian operations. In July 2024, the Dutch holding company Yandex N.V. completed the full divestment of its Russian assets for $5.4 billion, marking the largest corporate exit from Russia following the invasion. The Russian operations were moved into a new entity: the Target, called IJSC Yandex, a new international joint stock company incorporated in the Special Administrative Region in the Kaliningrad oblast of Russia.
The parent company was renamed. In July 2024, the remaining non-Russian assets of Yandex N.V. were reorganized as Nebius Group, and trading on Nasdaq resumed on 21 October 2024 under the ticker NBIS. The new group, based in Amsterdam, refocused Nebius on building a cloud platform for companies developing artificial intelligence products.
Products and services
The Russian business retains the best-known brands. Its search service has been estimated to hold an estimated 72% market share in Russia and a 2.8% market share worldwide. Other products include mapping, cloud computing platforms, a voice and text assistant built on large language model technology, and online shopping services. Many services are used through the mobile phone apps.
Governance and controversies
The company has long been seen as subject to state influence. The sale of Yandex, Russia's biggest tech giant, has potentially strengthened the Russian government's control over the company. Reports also described shareholders acting for sanctioned individuals. On data protection, Yandex has also faced fines from Russian authorities for refusing to share user data with the FSB. This raises questions about data privacy and the company's relationship with the government. In 2025 a former president publicly criticised its AI chatbot, as he criticized Yandex's AI chatbot for avoiding politically sensitive questions.
Its founder's position also changed. In March 2024, Volozh was removed from the EU sanctions list. He later returned to lead the group's non-Russian successor.
See also
The company's history is closely tied to the development of search and online advertising in the Russian language, and to the wider debate over technology firms operating under sanctions.
References
- Яндексyoutube.fandom.com
- Yandex - Wikiwandwikiwand.com
- Arkady Volozhen.wikipedia.org
- Yandex - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding, Competitors & Financials - Tracxntracxn.com
- History of Yandex - TAdvisertadviser.com
- Yandex Marketen.wikipedia.org
- Yandexen.wikipedia.org
- Tech Giant Yandex Gets New Russian Owner Ahead of Restructuring - The Moscow Timesthemoscowtimes.com
- yandex nvsec.gov
- Ranking Digital Rights - The 2025 Big Tech Editionrankingdigitalrights.org
- Nebius Groupen.wikipedia.org
- Yandex N.V. provides an update on the divestment of its Russia-based businessesyandex.com