I agree, if a search engine is able to rank high quality over quantity without compromising the trust then it could enter the search engine space as it is solving some real problem. But, the key point to remember is that the 'customer' of a search engine is one who wants precise results and not the business which wants its page to be displayed at the top i.e. the former is served by the engine and the latter by SEO.

Also, the major search engines weren't always like this. I believe it's their constant tuning to put up with SEO and their business interests such as regularly updated content equals more ads; led to it's low quality.

You're welcome to explain about your product, how it plans to address this problem and share its link in the comment (Product promotion regarding the stated problem is allowed in the comments).