Sridhar Ramaswamy (Neeva): taking on Google with AI and no ads
Neeva founder Sridhar Ramaswamy on the Handelsblatt podcast: how he wants to challenge Google and Bing using AI and a subscription model without advertising.
AI-powered language models like ChatGPT are revolutionising the way we use search engines. But the weaknesses of AI-based search need to be addressed too.
Sridhar Ramaswamy, founder and CEO of the AI-based search engine Neeva, wants to challenge the established search engines of Google and Microsoft with an ad-free offering. In this episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt, he explains to Silicon Valley correspondent Stephan Scheuer how he intends to do it.
The advertising-funded links familiar from Google Search are about to become a thing of the past, Ramaswamy argues. For a monthly subscription of 4.99 euros, users get search results free of advertising and tracking.
Ramaswamy himself spent many years at Google, where he ran the advertising business. During that time he learned that search is a far more profitable business than placing ads, he says.
He also discusses the weaknesses of AI-based search engines and explains why AI chatbots sometimes “hallucinate.” Neeva has raised more than 80 million dollars in funding and employs around 50 people.