Qwant has found its savior. The search engine, the result of a consortium between Patrick Constant, Éric Léandri, and Jean-Manuel Rozan, will be acquired by the OVHcloud group.
The rumor had been swirling since April. The search engine Qwant, created and based in Nice in 2011, is set to be acquired by the group OVHcloud. Led by the Polish entrepreneur, Octave Klaba, OVHcloud is a French company specializing in online data storage for businesses.
The transaction is expected to be finalized during the summer for an undisclosed amount. It will be conducted through the creation of a new entity, Synfonium. A digital entity that will bring together several market players. Among them will be Qwant and Shadow (editor’s note: a cloud gaming company). The aim is to create a behemoth of digital services capable of competing with Google.
The end of the ordeal
Considered since its official launch in 2013 as the underdog of search engines, Qwant will finally be able to put its problems behind it. Whether on the technical or financial level, Qwant has faced a number of difficulties. Rescued multiple times from bankruptcy, notably by the European Investment Bank, the company was looking for a sustainable solution to overcome its issues.
For those who might not be familiar with it, Qwant is a search engine that aims to be more respectful of its users’ privacy. It was financed solely through non-targeted advertising. All with the ambition of becoming one of Google’s main competitors. A mission not entirely abandoned, as through OVH, Qwant will aim to become the European leader in digital services. The beginning of a new adventure to once again glimpse the grand ambitions of its early days.
