Richard Socher, previously the chief scientist at Salesforce and a key figure in the development of the Einstein AI platform, is embarking on a new venture—a significant undertaking. Socher aims to revolutionize the consumer search experience and has announced the launch of you.com, a new search engine designed to challenge Google’s dominance.

“Our focus is on creating you.com, which is available now. We are dedicated to establishing a search engine built on trust, prioritizing reliable results and minimizing misleading content online,” he explained. He further emphasized his commitment to building a platform founded on principles of kindness and factual accuracy, acknowledging these are ambitious objectives.

He identified several critical problems that motivated him and his co-founders to create a new search solution. He stated that the sheer volume of available information is overwhelming, making it impossible for individuals to process it all effectively. Furthermore, determining the trustworthiness of information is a major challenge, and he believes this issue has broad societal implications. Finally, he highlighted the growing concern surrounding online privacy and the need to balance convenience with data protection.

Socher believes his expertise in artificial intelligence will be instrumental in developing a consumer-focused search tool. Initially, the search engine, while broadly applicable, will concentrate on assisting with complex consumer purchases that typically require comparing information across multiple websites.

“Our most significant contribution will be developing a trustworthy search engine powered by AI and advanced natural language processing, assisting individuals with complex life decisions, starting with product selection, while also maintaining broad functionality from the outset,” he stated.

While Socher refrained from providing extensive details, preferring to wait until the general availability release in a few months, he indicated a desire to differentiate from Google by avoiding reliance on advertising revenue and user data tracking. He learned from his experience with Marc Benioff at Salesforce that profitability and user trust are not mutually exclusive.

He recognizes the difficulty of competing with an established leader but believes that by creating a fundamentally different product, they can challenge the existing paradigm, potentially leveraging a “Innovator’s Dilemma” scenario where Google finds it difficult to respond without jeopardizing its core revenue streams.

He also anticipates that potential antitrust concerns facing Google could create opportunities for a startup like his. “I foresee that some of Google’s practices… may become more difficult to sustain in light of upcoming antitrust scrutiny,” he commented.

He acknowledges the potential challenges in ensuring trust and accuracy, as demonstrated by the experiences of social networks. Socher alluded to planned social sharing features within the search tool, including the ability to create personalized you.com URLs for easy sharing.

Socher confirmed that he has secured funding and assembled a team actively working on the product, but declined to disclose the amount of funding or the number of employees at this time. He did reveal that Benioff and venture capitalist Jim Breyer are key investors and that further details will be shared in the coming months.

Currently, interested individuals can visit the website and register for early access.