Qwant and Ecosia debut Staan, a European search index
9 months ago
- #privacy
- #european-tech
- #search-engines
- Qwant and Ecosia launched Staan, a joint European search index, as a cheaper, privacy-focused alternative to Google and Bing.
- The European Search Perspective (EUSP) joint venture aims to serve 50% of French and 33% of German search queries by year-end.
- Qwant is using the new index for AI summaries, while Ecosia plans to integrate AI features soon.
- EUSP is promoting Staan for in-app search, targeting chatbots as a cost-effective alternative to Google and Bing.
- Christian Kroll, CEO of Ecosia, highlighted Staan's affordability, offering search features at a tenth of the cost of Google and Bing.
- EUSP advocates for a European tech stack independent of U.S. or Chinese technology, citing urgency post-2024 U.S. election.
- European policymakers are concerned about reliance on American Big Tech for search, cloud, and AI infrastructure.
- EUSP emphasizes privacy-friendly search solutions, leveraging European privacy laws for differentiation from U.S. competitors.