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Qwant and Ecosia Launch European Search Index to Challenge Google and Bing
August 6, 2025
European search engines Qwant and Ecosia have begun routing user queries through a new jointly developed search index called Staan, designed to be a cost-effective and privacy-focused alternative to dominant players like Google and Bing.
The initiative stems from a joint venture formed last year between Qwant, a French privacy-centric search engine, and Ecosia, a German non-profit known for its environmentally conscious approach. Operating under the name European Search Perspective (EUSP), the partnership aims to process half of all search queries in France and a third in Germany by the end of the year.
Qwant is already using Staan to power features such as AI-generated summaries for search results. Ecosia also plans to integrate AI functionalities into its platform soon. EUSP is in discussions with other companies to embed Staan’s search capabilities into apps and services—particularly AI chatbots—by offering deep search and summarization capabilities at a fraction of the cost of U.S.-based search APIs.
“Our index can offer power search features at a tenth of the cost,” said Ecosia CEO Christian Kroll, highlighting its potential for grounding AI-generated content, especially for research-heavy tasks.
Beyond functionality, the project is also being framed as a strategic step toward digital sovereignty in Europe. In a joint statement, the companies emphasized the urgency of developing independent infrastructure, noting that much of Europe’s digital ecosystem still relies heavily on U.S. and Chinese technologies. The current geopolitical climate, they argue, has underscored the need for a Europe-first approach to search, cloud, and AI development.
By combining a homegrown search infrastructure with strict European privacy standards, EUSP aims to offer not just a cheaper, but also a more secure and values-aligned alternative to Big Tech’s search engines.
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