Very unfortunate news: was looking forward to another browser based on webkit available for the Linux community. The good news is that they’re at least open sourcing the code for the community.
TLDR; Kagi is ending development of Orion for Linux and Windows, but they’re open-sourcing both so the community can carry them forward. Kagi is stepping back from developing these platforms directly so the team can put more focus on Orion for macOS and iOS.
<Full Article in this spoiler>
Today we have an important update. We are ending development of Orion for Linux and Windows, and we’re open-sourcing both so the community can carry them forward. Kagi is stepping back from developing these platforms directly so our team can put more focus on Orion for macOS and iOS.
Orion is built by a very small team, just a handful of developers, funded entirely by Kagi users. We also chose to build it the hard way by not forking Chromium. That independence matters more than ever. The web needs more than one engine, and more than one company deciding what a browser should be.
When we announced Orion for Linux, the response was overwhelming. Many of you were thrilled, tested early builds, filed bug reports, and told us how much you wanted a WebKit-based browser on Linux that respects your privacy. Thank you. That work will soon belong to everyone.
Why we’re doing this When we decided to take Orion beyond the Apple ecosystem, we knew it was a big bet for a small, independent company. We made it because we believe owning the whole experience beginning with the browser, matters.
Building a cross-platform browser is something usually done by companies backed by venture capital or by large open-source communities. Kagi is neither. One thing we hear often from members is that they want us focused. They’re right. Rather than spread a small team across three platforms, we’re putting our energy where we can do our best work and opening the rest to people who want to take it further.
What this means for Orion on macOS and iOS Orion for macOS and iOS isn’t changing, except to get better. The team and resources that were split across platforms are now focused on making Orion on Apple devices faster, more stable, and more capable. Expect steady improvements in the coming months.
Download Orion for macOS Download Orion for iOS What open-sourcing looks like We’ll release the source code for Orion for Linux and Orion for Windows. A lot of good work went into it, and it deserves a future even if we aren’t the ones who finish it now. We’re thinking about this carefully and will release details in the next 30 days.
We’ve also reached out to open-source foundations and organizations about long-term stewardship. To be clear about our role: Kagi won’t be the core maintainer. These projects need people who want to own them.
Get involved If you’re a developer, maintainer, or organization interested in stewarding Orion for Linux or Windows, we want to hear from you. Reach us at [email protected].
What this means for current users Linux: The current Linux Beta will keep working, but it will stop receiving updates from Kagi after October 2, 2026. We don’t recommend using it as your main browser.
Windows: We had planned to launch Orion for Windows in late 2026. That release won’t come from Kagi. Instead, the code will be available for the community to build on. If you signed up for the Windows newsletter, this will be the last update you receive from that list.
Thank you To everyone who tested, reported bugs, and believed in an independent browser beyond the Apple ecosystem: thank you. You helped build something worth sharing, and we’re glad to share it with the community.
Thank you for your patience, your enthusiasm, and your trust.
— the Kagi team
All their AI is opt in, can be turned off everywhere with one switch, and even support small web.
I didn’t want my money funding AI development.
As someone in the same position, it’s a difficult line to manage.
I’ve criticized Kagi before, but it’s still unfortunately the best model for search on the market. I pay them money, they give me search results. As the prior post said, they’ve introduced switches to disable all of the AI. And if you believe what they’ve said about costs, then search is more expensive for them than AI — so if you use a lot of search (as I do, ≈1.2K/Mo), and don’t rack up AI usage, then that money isn’t going to AI, viewed in a vacuum of course.
They’re not developing AI. They give you access to a bunch of AI models, but they don’t train/create them. And as the guy above says, it’s completely optional. You don’t even get an AI answer like Google unless you add a ? to your search.
So if I, the customer, pay money, and this money gives me (optional) access to a bunch of commercial models… Does that not fund AI?
You can see exactly where every penny went on your account page. Search and AI use are separate line items. If you don’t use it, no money will go to it
Well that’s a pretty good system, I have to admit.
Don’t forget that money is fungible.
Sorry, I’m not good with economy terminology, and English isn’t my first language. What does that mean, fungible? I looked it up but I couldn’t make much sense of it.
It means any dollar works the same as any other. That’s how I would put it.
Here’s a dictionary:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fungible
So if Kagi takes a bunch of dollars in and makes a claim that THIS particular dollar funds the AI project, but THAT particular dollar does not fund it, that claim about the specificity of the individual dollars is on its face bullshit.
Well that’s complicated. You are not funding AI development. Kagi is not an AI developer.
Is purchasing product from a company who uses an AI chatbot on their website or to take phonecalls funding AI? I wouldn’t think so, but if enough people are using it, maybe it is…? Guess it really depends on how you look at it.
Money coming from me that ends up with a company that supplies an AI product, directly or indirectly, funds AI. Am I wrong in saying that?
If I’m not wrong, it’s not complicated. But maybe I’m missing something. I don’t think I can easily see in which way you are looking at it in your example. 🫣
I’m looking at it from both ways, because as I said, it’s complicated. Half of the companies you deal with these days are using AI in some form, whether it’s your internet provider, TV manufacturer, local grocery store, etc.
As another example: Your local grocery store used AI to write short descriptions for products for an ad or display. First of all, can you even tell it’s AI from a short description…? And second of all, does that mean buying groceries from that business is funding AI…?
I personally don’t think having a Kagi subscription is considered “funding AI”, especially considering another comment that points out they are transparent about where your subscription goes, but depending on where you draw the line, maybe you would.