Qwant raises EUR 38.5m from Axel Springer, Caisse des Dépôts and EIB
Qwant, the European search engine that protects the privacy of its users, raises a total of EUR 38.5m with the renewed support of Axel Springer of EUR 3.5m, the new investment of Caisse des Dépôts as a public interest investor of EUR 15m and a EUR 20m loan granted by The European Investment Bank (EIB).
This equity investment will allow the alternative search engine development in Europe. Qwant has its own indexing technology and guarantees the confidentiality of users' personal data. Its founders also participated in this round of financing and remain majority shareholders.
Since its inception in 2013, the Qwant search engine has been driven by a philosophy of innovation. The Qwant search engine protects its users' privacy by design. Qwant boasts an impressive audience growth, doubling the number of visits year on year.
Guillaume Teboul, partner at Cambon Partners, “I'm proud to have taken on the challenge: despite the deal's initial complexity, the company's metrics, along with user expectations of the service, were such that we were able to bring the project to fruition”.
Acknowledging the necessity to guarantee the security and anonymity of users and giving back its nobility to natural indexing, Caisse des Dépôts is committing to this project from a moral point of view. According to Gabrielle Gauthey, Director of local development and investment at Caisse des Dépôts,“our institution is delighted to offer its committed support to this project, on a European scale, with which we share the ethical values”.
The German group Axel Springer re-invests in Qwant's search engine. Ulrich Schmitz, Managing Director of Axel Springer Digital Ventures, explains: “What we find exciting about Qwant is its innovative spirit and its strong focus on technological development. Through our engagement we hope to learn more, receive impulses as well as contribute to Qwant’s further development and growth in Europe.”