Yahoo Acquires Artifact! News App by Instagram Founders

MetaversePlanet April 5, 2024

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Yahoo announced on Tuesday its acquisition of the AI-powered news application Artifact, a venture by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The financial specifics of the Yahoo-founders agreement remain undisclosed.

Following this acquisition, Artifact will discontinue its operation as an independent app. Its AI-driven personalization technology is slated for integration across Yahoo’s platforms, including the Yahoo News app, in the upcoming months.

Systrom and Krieger are set to assist Yahoo in a consulting role throughout this transition period.

This move comes after Artifact’s announcement several months prior, indicating its closure due to an insufficient market opportunity to justify further investment. Initially launched as a straightforward news app, Artifact’s trajectory appeared to veer towards becoming a potential Twitter alternative amidst fierce competition, including from Meta’s Threads.

Artifact’s technology is designed to tailor content discovery to user preferences, progressively refining the alignment of news feeds to individual interests. This includes AI functionalities for summarizing news, rephrasing clickbait titles, and highlighting top content. Yahoo anticipates that incorporating these features will enhance its ability to offer more personalized and rich content experiences to users.

Kat Downs Mulder, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo News, expressed enthusiasm over continuing the development of Artifact’s technology, emphasizing Yahoo’s commitment to being a reliable digital information guide and curator of significant content.