I got on their email list before the ICO and followed some of the development. I didnt buy in during ICO (in fact didnt buy in at all) yet feel it is a project that is worth supporting to break the Google stranglehold if we can (at least start the process).
I presume the beta phase is to get the AI aspect of things being fed search information so it can start to work on its own.
Bing has actually been trying this for a while with 'Microsoft Points'... but their prices are so high and the prizes so terrible that I never gave it a second look. Earning actual cryptocurrency is a whole other ball game.
The good thing is... if I get in early enough, I can figure out what their AI looks for and change my website accordingly.