Quixey.com doesn't compete with Google.com as a destination for users. We're successfully monetizing our technology by powering custom app search for business partners who already have major distribution.
http://www.uquery.com/ would probably be closer to home. I'm a bit curious about "powering custom app search" model - is there anyone well-known you're powering you're willing to mention?
Quixey is a 2-year-old startup with a lot of ties to the rationalist community. Our product is an all-platform "functional search" engine for apps. Our main engineering task is to build the most accurate possible map of all software on all platforms (the "functional web"), and write search algorithms that let users find apps to do what they need.
We're hiring top-notch engineers for full time positions in our Palo Alto, CA office. If your overall engineering skill level is "Google+", we have a lot to offer: