Yandex plans to move away from the news aggregator and reshape ya.ru as its new gateway for Search, Mail, and other services, according to a notice from the tech company’s communications team.
Following the completion of the sale of media assets Zen and News, ya.ru will serve as the primary entry point for search, mail, and additional Yandex services, including the user’s Yandex ID account, the release explains.
Additionally, Yandex will launch a new Android app featuring Alice. The company’s press service noted that the core features of the revamped homepage and the new app will center on the search engine itself.
On ya.ru, users will access a universal search capable of locating anything anywhere, a vertical search for items like photos or products, and Alice for quick responses. The new homepage preview is already visible at new.ya.ru, Yandex added.
The accessible page currently shows only the search bar; there are no news items, Zen messages, or advertisements yet. Beneath the search field, users can view local weather, city traffic levels, and current exchange rates.
Delivery Club deal with VK
Yandex also announced on its site that it has acquired the Delivery Club food and grocery delivery service. The deal with VK was finalized on August 22.
The company plans to continue growing the Delivery Club brand, keeping the app and website functioning as before. After closing, Delivery Club and Yandex.Food will merge onto a single technology platform. This integration is expected to boost order density in regions, enabling couriers to complete more deliveries and speeding up service for users, with a broader selection of restaurant partners, Yandex promised.
Couriers working with Delivery Club will gain access to the Yandex.Pro platform, which optimizes orders and routes. Deliverers will keep existing benefits such as delivery insurance, a sick leave equivalent, and legal support.
Delivery Club partner restaurants will be able to broaden their delivery radius by linking with Yandex.Delivery. This should attract new customers and raise total orders, with promotional tools and Plus points progressively available to participating restaurants, the company noted.
Estimations place the 2021 market for prepared food and grocery delivery well above 650 billion rubles. The service spans private operators and restaurant networks, with orders possible via websites or phone. With delivery becoming a staple for millions, the forecast pointed to continued growth of around 20% annually. The Delivery Club merger will let Yandex devote more resources to product development and faster response to user, restaurant, shop, and courier requests, Dmitry Masyuk, Yandex Food technology chief, stated.
Yandex confirmed that on August 22 a binding agreement was signed to purchase Delivery Club along with VK’s Zen and News services.
The deal is expected to close in the near term and will require clearance from antitrust authorities, the company added.
Zen and News in VK
VK disclosed plans to sell Delivery Club, a service VK had brought under the O2O Holding restructuring, a VK and Sberbank venture. The intention is to finalize the sale by the end of 2022, after which VK will acquire rights to Zen and News technologies and trademarks.
Post-transaction, Zen and News will appear on the dzen.ru portal, alongside other VK services and the Yandex search line. Zen will preserve its monetization tools for authors, and readers can choose between the dzen.ru portal or a mobile app to enjoy the content.
VK’s leadership, including Vladimir Kiriyen, described Zen as a popular platform with substantial growth potential. The integration with VK was expected to help Zen creators reach new audiences, while delivering users premium entertainment and educational content, Kiriyen commented.
Kiriyen also emphasized that the decision supports the team’s autonomy and speed to market for new content products, while expanding existing offerings and audience reach.
The asset exchange agreement between Yandex and VK is seen by observers as a move that can enhance service quality and potentially spark the creation of new sites, noted Anton Gorelkin, deputy chair of the State Duma Information Policy Committee.
Observers commented that the cross-company moves could boost service quality for Russian users and provide a competitive alternative to major U.S. platforms. The broader economic and international climate underscores the push for strong local competitors, one analyst added, noting that the agreement is viewed as mutually beneficial for both parties.