Neeva, a search engine company founded with the aim of prioritizing user interests and delivering an ad-free search experience, will soon be shut down. The company that was considered a competitor to Google, founded by former Google executives, said that this decision had been taken as they had realised that they weren’t on a path to creating a sustainable business.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce neeva.com will shut down over the next few weeks. We appreciate our passionate community of customers and users that have supported us over the past few years. We thank you for understanding,” tweeted Neeva. In early 2022, Neeva recognized the potential impact of generative AI and Language Model models (LLMs). However, the journey revealed that building a search engine is one thing, but convincing regular users to switch to a superior alternative is an entirely different challenge, said the company in its official blog.
Encountering resistance due to the complexities of changing default search settings and educating people about the distinctions between a search engine and a browser, Neeva struggled to acquire users. Surprisingly, convincing users to pay for an improved experience proved to be less difficult than persuading them to try a new search engine in the first place, added the company.
Combining these obstacles with the evolving economic landscape, Neeva came to the realization that creating a sustainable consumer search business was no longer feasible. Consequently, in the coming weeks, they will be discontinuing neeva.com and their consumer search product. Instead, Neeva will redirect its focus towards a new area of specialization.
What Lies Ahead for Neeva?
In response to the growing demand for effective, cost-efficient, safe, and responsible use of Language Model models (LLMs), the company says that it has made significant advancements over the past year. Pioneering techniques such as size reduction, latency reduction, and affordable deployment have emerged as crucial elements that enterprises seek and require in the current landscape. The company also added that its team is actively engaged in exploring opportunities to apply their deep knowledge in search and LLMs within these contexts. In the coming weeks, updates will be provided regarding the future direction of their work and the composition of their team.
