In a bold move to challenge Big Tech, Ecosia, the Berlin-based, tree-planting search engine, and Qwant, France’s privacy-focused search provider, are teaming up. They plan to create their own European search index, aiming to reduce reliance on Microsoft’s Bing and Google. 

Both Ecosia and Qwant currently use Bing’s search APIs and, in Ecosia’s case, Google results as well. But with rising API costs, they’re seeking independence by building their own search index.

A New Path to Innovation and Reduced Costs

This joint venture between Ecosia and Qwant offers a twofold benefit. First, it will reduce their dependence on tech giants. Second, it will drive fresh innovation for their users, especially in generative AI. Although they aren’t abandoning Bing or Google entirely, this new European index will lessen their operating costs and give them more flexibility to develop unique tools and features.

In recent years, both search engines have experimented with generative AI in their products. While they aren’t developing their own AI models, they plan to use APIs from major platforms to integrate advanced AI features. With their own index, they’ll gain the technical foundation needed to better serve users as AI becomes central to digital search experiences.

Opening Doors to a Collaborative Future

Qwant and Ecosia also see this as an opportunity for more European tech independence. They hope other European companies might join them, either as customers or as partners. “The door is open, and we’re ready to talk to anyone,” Qwant’s CEO, Olivier Abecassis, said. 

He emphasized their ambition to invest quickly and efficiently, saying that existing shareholders are eager to support their mission.

Navigating the Risks and Rewards of AI

The rise of AI brings both excitement and challenges. “With AI tools emerging, there’s a new demand for a search index,” Ecosia CEO, Christian Kroll, said. “Bing and Google are becoming more reluctant to share their index. As search engines, we need a reliable, accessible index.”

Kroll sees this as a unique opportunity to develop a European search` infrastructure. New European regulations like the Digital Markets Act, which mandates data-sharing among tech companies, make this the right moment to pursue their own index. Kroll added, “We’ve wanted this for a while, but now it’s the perfect time.”

Evolving Search for the Future

EUP’s goal is to blend generative AI with updated search results. Abecassis believes this combination is key to the future of search. “Search and generative AI aren’t identical, but they enhance each other. The mix will be unique.” He compared Google’s approach of keeping search and AI separate to what EUP aims to do—unifying these technologies for a seamless experience.

The joint venture, called European Search Perspective (EUP), is set up as a 50:50 partnership. While neither Ecosia nor Qwant has disclosed their exact investment amounts, they note that their shareholders are committed to the project. EUP will operate independently, enabling it to attract outside investors.

Rolling Out EUP: A Timeline for Change

EUP plans to begin serving Ecosia and Qwant’s French traffic by early next year. Germany will follow, with a significant share of traffic moving to EUP by the end of 2025. English is next in line, and if the project gains momentum, other European languages could be added. The venture’s headquarters will be in Paris, and Qwant’s engineering team will transition to EUP.

Building a Homegrown Solution in Europe

In this venture, Ecosia and Qwant gain efficiency and access to more data, boosting the quality of their search tools. “If we want to be effective, we need to involve more people and be ambitious,” Abecassis said, explaining how the partnership began when Qwant invited Ecosia to join the project. By pooling resources, the two firms can offer a stronger alternative to Google and Microsoft.

Unlike Big Tech’s approach, EUP’s search index will deliver “privacy-first” results, which means no personalized data collection. This privacy commitment, says Kroll, aligns with Europe’s values and reinforces the importance of digital sovereignty, especially in uncertain geopolitical times.

European Data Autonomy and Privacy

The leaders at Ecosia and Qwant emphasize the importance of controlling their data infrastructure. “If the U.S. government restricted access to search results for Europeans, we’d be back to using phone books,” Kroll noted. He sees this European search project as essential for the region’s technological independence, especially as the global political climate shifts.

A Costly But Strategic Endeavor

Brave, a rival privacy-centric search engine, previously developed its own index and claims it has freed them from Microsoft’s influence. But Brave also notes the challenge of building such an index, calling it “long and very expensive.” Brave licenses its index to other companies and reports that this has become a substantial revenue source.

EUP’s leaders acknowledge the difficulty of creating a new search technology from scratch, but they believe this approach will pay off by aligning with Europe’s privacy standards and commitment to data sovereignty. In time, EUP could become a leading search alternative, uniquely shaped by European values.