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Mahalo.com, a search engine powered by human input, launches today with the assistance of investors that include CBS, News Corp and Sequoia Capital, per a press release.

The site will appear in Alpha with 4,000 of the most popular search terms already completed. The Santa Monica-based company aspires to hit 10,000 completed search terms by year's end, at which point it will appear in Beta.

Calacanis explained, "It's my belief that humans can play a significant role in the development of search results and we're going to try to figure out exactly what that role is over the next couple of years. I am really looking forward to hearing what people think of the Alpha."

Mahalo, which means "thank you" in Hawaiian, is the first human-powered search engine thus far to be released for public trial. To monetize its service it will be trying different ad formats in the coming months.

The five-month-old firm has already closed two rounds of financing.