Instagram Co-founders Have Sold Their A.I. News App Artifact to Yahoo

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have sold their artificial intelligence (A.I.) news app, Artifact, to Yahoo. In an announcement today (April 2), Yahoo said the news app will no longer be a standalone platform as its technology and features become integrated with Yahoo, specifically Yahoo News. The acquisition closed on March 29. Financial details were not disclosed. 

Systrom and Krieger launched Artifact, whose name combines articles, facts and A.I., a little over a year ago in January 2023. It uses A.I. to curate relevant news stories into a personalized feed for users, rivaling apps like Apple News, Google News and startups like SmartNews.   

This past January, the founders announced that they would be shutting down the app, writing that the “the market opportunity isn’t big enough to warrant continued investment in this way.” The two will stay and work with Yahoo in an advisory capacity, according to a press release today. Systrom said in a statement that Yahoo recognizes the opportunity that A.I. has to “give users a better experience discovering great content they care about.” 

“We built an intuitive product experience that users love and has the opportunity to benefit millions of people,” Systrom said. “Yahoo brings the scale to help the product achieve what we envisioned while upholding the belief that connecting people to the trusted sources of news and information is as critical as ever.”

Other news organizations are also figuring out deals with A.I. companies. Some are turning to Big Tech, such as Semafor’s partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI to produce its breaking news feed called Signals, and Axel Springer teaming up with OpenAI to incorporate A.I. into its brands, which include Business Insider and Politico. Much of the industry is still making up its mind on how to properly address the technology and whether or not it’s appropriate to use in the newsroom.