How the Lviv-Based Team UKEESS Helped Create and Sell Archives.com for $100 Million
Ancestry.com is one of the world’s most recognized platforms for family history research and DNA digitization. It allows users to build family trees, trace lineage, uncover historical records, and even find living relatives through DNA testing. With nearly 100 different DNA trait analyses available today, users can explore a wide range of information, from ethnic origins to physical traits. In 2022, Ancestry.com surpassed $1 billion in revenue and grew its database to over 30 billion historical records.
But what many don’t know is that part of Ancestry’s success story includes the acquisition of a rising competitor: Archives.com — a genealogy research platform built in partnership with Ukrainian engineers from the Lviv-based company UKEESS.
A $100 Million Archive
In 2012, Ancestry acquired Archives.com for $100 million — one of the largest M&A deals in the genealogy industry at the time. The platform provided access to more than 11 billion historical records, ranging from birth and death certificates to marriage licenses and archived newspapers. By the time of the sale, the service had around 385,000 paying subscribers, each paying $39 annually, and a free version that reached an even wider global audience.
A key milestone in the platform’s success was the integration of data from the US National Archives — a task carried out entirely by the Ukrainian team. That integration significantly boosted the platform’s visibility and value.
At the Heart of Innovation — Across Continents
Founded in 2004, UKEESS is a Lviv-based software company specializing in complex SaaS solutions, cloud infrastructure, and Big Data platforms — all requiring top-tier engineering expertise.
In 2009, UKEESS became a technical partner of Inflection, a California-based startup, which later launched Archives.com. The goal was to create a fast, intuitive, and user-friendly tool that made genealogical research simple and accessible.
The project was led by Andrii Kohut, co-founder and CTO of UKEESS. At its peak, the Ukrainian development team counted 13 members: seven backend engineers, three frontend developers, and three QA testers. While the UX/UI was handled by a US-based team — a strategic move to ensure alignment with American user expectations — the heavy lifting of development and technical integration was done in Lviv.
From 2009 to 2012, before the Zoom and Google Meet era, the teams collaborated via email, Microsoft MSN Messenger for Business, and Microsoft Lync. For many US partners, it was their first experience working with a distributed team across time zones. Surprisingly, the time
difference often worked in their favor — while the US slept, the Ukrainian team was building features; when both sides were online, they could align on next steps.
The Ukrainian developers also traveled to the US for key planning sessions — a practice that remains crucial today, particularly for sales, onboarding, and product launches. Even in the age of remote-first work, face-to-face collaboration remains a vital component of long-term success.
Tackling Major Technical Challenges
Kohut recalls that to make Archives.com both fast and scalable, UKEESS had to solve a number of technical hurdles, including:
- Merging massive data sets (digitized and non-digitized) from various US states and counties
- Unifying data from diverse formats and media sources
- Building a high-speed, efficient search system
- Integrating external APIs
- Enabling secure and reliable payment systems
- Ensuring platform stability under heavy traffic
The entire backend infrastructure, including performance optimization and scalability, was built and maintained by the UKEESS team. Thanks to their effort, the platform officially launched in 2010 and, within two years, became one of the top three genealogy services globally.
A Pivotal Acquisition and What Happened Next
The acquisition by Ancestry.com marked the culmination of a period of rapid growth. However, it wasn’t the end for the Lviv engineers. UKEESS continued working on the platform post-sale as part of Ancestry’s broader engineering organization and has remained involved in genealogy-related projects ever since.
This story is further proof that Ukrainian tech professionals consistently deliver world-class results with speed. While the local IT industry has grown exponentially since 2012, UKEESS has established itself as one of Ukraine’s key players in developing global genealogy platforms.
How the Lviv-Based Team UKEESS Helped Create and Sell Archives.com for $100 Million
Ancestry.com is one of the world’s most recognized platforms for family history research and DNA digitization. It allows users to build family trees, trace lineage, uncover historical records, and even find living relatives through DNA testing. With nearly 100 different DNA trait analyses available today, users can explore a wide range of information, from ethnic origins to physical traits. In 2022, Ancestry.com surpassed $1 billion in revenue and grew its database to over 30 billion historical records.
But what many don’t know is that part of Ancestry’s success story includes the acquisition of a rising competitor: Archives.com — a genealogy research platform built in partnership with Ukrainian engineers from the Lviv-based company UKEESS.
A $100 Million Archive
In 2012, Ancestry acquired Archives.com for $100 million — one of the largest M&A deals in the genealogy industry at the time. The platform provided access to more than 11 billion historical records, ranging from birth and death certificates to marriage licenses and archived newspapers. By the time of the sale, the service had around 385,000 paying subscribers, each paying $39 annually, and a free version that reached an even wider global audience.
A key milestone in the platform’s success was the integration of data from the US National Archives — a task carried out entirely by the Ukrainian team. That integration significantly boosted the platform’s visibility and value.
At the Heart of Innovation — Across Continents
Founded in 2004, UKEESS is a Lviv-based software company specializing in complex SaaS solutions, cloud infrastructure, and Big Data platforms — all requiring top-tier engineering expertise.
In 2009, UKEESS became a technical partner of Inflection, a California-based startup, which later launched Archives.com. The goal was to create a fast, intuitive, and user-friendly tool that made genealogical research simple and accessible.
The project was led by Andrii Kohut, co-founder and CTO of UKEESS. At its peak, the Ukrainian development team counted 13 members: seven backend engineers, three frontend developers, and three QA testers. While the UX/UI was handled by a US-based team — a strategic move to ensure alignment with American user expectations — the heavy lifting of development and technical integration was done in Lviv.
From 2009 to 2012, before the Zoom and Google Meet era, the teams collaborated via email, Microsoft MSN Messenger for Business, and Microsoft Lync. For many US partners, it was their first experience working with a distributed team across time zones. Surprisingly, the time
difference often worked in their favor — while the US slept, the Ukrainian team was building features; when both sides were online, they could align on next steps.
The Ukrainian developers also traveled to the US for key planning sessions — a practice that remains crucial today, particularly for sales, onboarding, and product launches. Even in the age of remote-first work, face-to-face collaboration remains a vital component of long-term success.
Tackling Major Technical Challenges
Kohut recalls that to make Archives.com both fast and scalable, UKEESS had to solve a number of technical hurdles, including:
- Merging massive data sets (digitized and non-digitized) from various US states and counties
- Unifying data from diverse formats and media sources
- Building a high-speed, efficient search system
- Integrating external APIs
- Enabling secure and reliable payment systems
- Ensuring platform stability under heavy traffic
The entire backend infrastructure, including performance optimization and scalability, was built and maintained by the UKEESS team. Thanks to their effort, the platform officially launched in 2010 and, within two years, became one of the top three genealogy services globally.
A Pivotal Acquisition and What Happened Next
The acquisition by Ancestry.com marked the culmination of a period of rapid growth. However, it wasn’t the end for the Lviv engineers. UKEESS continued working on the platform post-sale as part of Ancestry’s broader engineering organization and has remained involved in genealogy-related projects ever since.
This story is further proof that Ukrainian tech professionals consistently deliver world-class results with speed. While the local IT industry has grown exponentially since 2012, UKEESS has established itself as one of Ukraine’s key players in developing global genealogy platforms.
