EU Google Competitor Gets $165 million Kick Start

theseus.jpgTheseus, a German based project that is aiming to develop “the world’s most advanced multimedia search engine for the next-generation Internet.” will received a cash injection of $165 million from the German Government, under approval by the EU.

According to an AP report, the German Government will initially fund Siemens AG, SAP AG, Deutsche Thomson oHG and EMPOLIS GmbH to kick start the project with later funding to be given to small and medium businesses to build on the initial research.

Theseus was inspired by a perceived need by European countries to challenge American hegemony on the internet by Google.

Like just about everything in the history of Europe, France and Germany disagree. France is said to be discussing a similar subsidy plan with the European Commission that is aiming to deliver $112 million to a French Google competitor Quaero, a project previously supported by the Germans, which is led by French video-technology company Thomson.