• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 3, 2014

Japanese start-up Studio Ousia has created a software development kit (SDK) for the iOS platform to accelerate mobile text-based searches by linking to popular search engines, news and reference sites in a browser.

The SDK called Linkify allows mobile searchers to click on a word linked to YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Twitter and other sites to discover more information about the text and content. The technology aims to make searching on mobile devices easier.

Developers can customize the colors of the links in the content, along with the widget, to match the mobile app's design. The SDK taps into a machine-learning engine that recognizes the meanings of keywords and generates relevant links.

Studio Ousia expects that designers participating in a private beta will contribute to the design and the product road map. Apple iOS developers can begin testing the code today. The company has announced plans to expand into other operating systems in the future, so Android developers will need to wait a bit longer.

Google reports that half of searches done on mobile devices look for local products or information. Many times, the keywords in content and article start the research process for goods and services. A recent report from BIA/Kelsey finds that mobile search will generate 27.8 billion more queries than desktop search by 2016.

Research from Google and Nielsen estimate consumers spend more than 15 hours weekly researching on their smartphone; consumers who make a purchase on average visit mobile Web sites six times.

Nissay Capital and Seed Technology Capital Partners are investors in Studio Ousia, which also includes products like Phroni and LinkPlaza.