At a hastily arranged press conference held at a Gurgaon coworking space that doubles as a tandoori momo stall after 6 pm, Malhotra, wearing a "Trust the Process " t-shirt, explained his logic. "Google has been bullying users for years," he declared to the three journalists and one stray dog present. "They shove sponsored results and SEO scams at your face like an overenthusiastic aunty at a wedding buffet. I am bringing back democracy — one poorly formatted Geocities blog at a time."
PageEnd’s homepage, still a work in progress according to insiders , greets users with a message: “Welcome! Your journey starts where others give up.” Clicking the search button triggers a satisfying loading animation of a spinning chappal, after which users are presented directly with the least optimised, most abandoned parts of the web.
Early beta testers were reportedly baffled but politely encouraging. One user, 27-year-old Anushka Jha from Noida, said, "It took me 45 minutes to find anything even remotely connected to my query, but honestly, it was refreshing not being sold another subscription box or asked if I want to lose belly fat by drinking haldi shots."
The concept, while drawing immediate skepticism from the rational segment of humanity, has found an enthusiastic fanbase among startup investors who usually write six-figure cheques after seeing three slides and a "Moonshot" keyword somewhere. Y Combinator insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were simultaneously attending four other pitch meetings, admitted they were intrigued. "We love anyone who has the audacity to solve a problem that doesn't exist," said one, sipping on a $19 ethically sourced oat milk latte.
To be fair, Malhotra does have a point. Google’s top results often resemble a souk in Marrakesh: everything glitters but you’re still not sure you actually needed it. Sponsored ads, auto-generated clickbait, and those “Top 10 Best of Everything” articles compiled by bored interns using ChatGPT seem to dominate the first few pages.
FD Staff attempted to trial PageEnd and searched for "best ways to invest in 2025." PageEnd immediately offered a vintage forum post from 2002 suggesting users should put their money in horse farms and "certified Beanie Baby resellers." When asked if this was an oversight, Malhotra beamed. "This is what pure internet looks like. Raw, uncut, non-sponsored stupidity. It’s authentic."
Of course, critics are unconvinced. Many have pointed out that while Veddy’s heart is undoubtedly in the right place, his brain may have taken a short vacation. Tech analyst Anupama Chawla posted on X : "Launching a search engine that intentionally hides useful results is like opening a restaurant that serves cold food first. Oh wait, that’s also trendy now."
There are also operational challenges. According to FD sources, PageEnd's search indexing is currently being done manually, by Veddy and three volunteers from a Facebook group titled "Digital Freedom Fighters India." The team proudly claims they have so far indexed over 47,000 pages, most of which are cached versions of long-dead Tripod sites, MySpace blogs, and fan pages dedicated to Orkut communities.
Meanwhile, Google's official response to the disruption was characteristically calm. A spokesperson, appearing entirely unfazed, issued a statement saying, "We welcome innovation. The internet is a big place. Good luck finding anything better after page 4."
PageEnd’s approach does have an undeniable allure to a generation suffocated by hyper-optimised mediocrity. Early adopters are calling it “nostalgia-driven information retrieval.” Sanjay Iyer, a Mumbai-based product manager who hasn't clicked on the second page of Google since 2011, confessed, "I found a recipe for karela ice cream on page 47. It’s disgusting. I’m strangely proud."
The launch event also featured live demos that didn’t quite go as planned. One journalist’s search for “cheap hotels in Goa” eventually led to a hand-scanned PDF of a 1995 Lonely Planet guide recommending a lodge with no electricity but "excellent goat stew." Another's query about "AI investment opportunities" pulled up a defunct Angelfire site claiming Microsoft Clippy was secretly building Skynet.
Despite obvious shortcomings, Veddy’s vision has attracted the kind of buzz that can only exist in a universe where venture capitalists are more excited by disruption than results. Several reports suggest that a group of bored billionaires who made their fortune selling NFT emojis in 2021 are considering an angel investment. One insider gushed, "It’s like Uber for Search Engines, but worse. Exactly what the market needs."
Perhaps the clearest sign of PageEnd’s potential came when leading ed-tech entrepreneur-turned-influencer Ramesh "Ram" Verma announced on Instagram Live that he had “deeply vibed” with the mission. "First-page Google is toxic masculinity," he declared while adjusting his Hermès shawl. "Page 47 is soft boy energy."
Malhotra seems undeterred by the scepticism. His roadmap, proudly displayed on a crumpled sheet of paper, outlines ambitious future plans: a "Super Secret Search Mode" that starts users on page 100, a "Treasure Hunt" feature where users can win crypto rewards for finding functioning hyperlinks, and an "Organic Only" mode that blacklists any page with more than one ad banner.
Not stopping there, PageEnd is also piloting a premium service named "Deep Dive Deluxe" for users who feel even page 47 is too mainstream. For a modest monthly fee of ₹499, users will be parachuted directly into archives of Netscape Navigator forums, 1997 Ask Jeeves answers, and old Quora posts where nobody really knew anything but answered with great confidence anyway.
Meanwhile, corporate rivals are taking notes. Rumours suggest Amazon is considering a new shopping feature where customers must scroll through at least 25 pages of unusable listings before finding anything worthwhile, "to heighten the thrill of the purchase journey." Facebook is said to be testing a news feed where updates from your 9th grade classmates are given priority over anything remotely current, "to preserve emotional authenticity."
As for Malhotra himself, he is already working on securing PageEnd’s place in cultural history. Talks are underway with Bollywood producers for a biopic tentatively titled *Page 47: The Untold Story*, with a casting shortlist that reportedly includes Kartik Aaryan, Pankaj Tripathi, and a green-screened cameo by an AI-generated Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
Asked whether he was worried about Google simply copying his idea and flipping it into a feature called "Google End," Malhotra shrugged. "That’s fine. I’ll just start another company. Maybe a GPS app that only gives you directions based on instinct and the position of the sun. Innovation is about thinking beyond reason."
For now, PageEnd is live and semi-functional, proudly waving the flag for internet anarchists everywhere. Whether it succeeds or not, Veddy Malhotra has at least proved one thing: in a world obsessed with faster, shinier, better — there’s always room for slower, messier, and gloriously useless.