TechCrunch suggests and then dismisses the possibility that Apple may be building a search engine.
According to the site, they had heard some reports that Apple might be working on a search engine, but thus far the evidence does not seem to pan out:
But one important fact that isnt checking out - if Apple were building a search engine, theyd be hiring search experts and engineers. Weve talked to a ton of them at all the big companies, and while some of them heard the same rumors, none have lost search employees to Apple, or heard of any specific hirings.
TechCrunch speculates that the rumors may simply be a product of Apple building a better mobile search interface without reinventing the entire search engine.