Several former Google employees and top managers from the USA have launched their own paid search engine called Neeva, which has no intrusive ads and does not track its users or transfer user data to any third parties. Neeva means "fundamentals" or "the basics" in Sanskrit.
Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan relied on their experience in promoting and developing Google services in the process of creating a new search service. They also kept in mind the long-known truth: "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold."
The search engine says it will give at least 20% of its income to content-creating partners whose materials are used to answer Neeva requests directly. By default, the service stores search queries for 90 days, but users can delete the search history and prevent it from being saved altogether.
Neeva blocks third-party trackers, you can delete the data it collects or prohibit its storage. The service can also be integrated with calendars, mail accounts, and cloud storage platforms.
Neeva chose "No ads here" and "You are not the product" as its advertising taglines. According to the company, they will still be refining the search engine, and several major launches are planned in July.
Notably, Neeva's 60-person team is 30% former Google employees, including senior executives who helped shape the tech giant. The new company has already received $77.5 million in investment to develop its own product.
One can use Neeva for free for three months to test its features. After the trial period ends, users will be offered to purchase a monthly subscription for $4.95.