Yahoo has acquired Artifact, an AI-powered news app founded by the founders of Instagram. The company is only acquiring the app’s technology in the deal. Artifact is shutting down as previously announced.
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger introduced an app called “Artifact” in early 2023. This app was basically a news feed and recommendation platform. And it did so with the support of artificial intelligence. However, statements a few months ago showed that it would be shut down because it was not promising and did not reach the expected level.
Today, there was a development about the future of Artifact. US technology giant Yahoo announced that it has acquired the company. The price of the deal was not disclosed.
Artifact’s artificial intelligence infrastructure to be transferred to Yahoo, app discontinued
First of all, it is important to note that Artifact will not revive the app, but will become history once the deal is finalized. So Yahoo, a prominent news company, is buying Artifact’s technology. No one from the app or the team is joining the company. Founders Systrom and Krieger said they will be consultants but will not officially move to Yahoo. Artifact’s 5-person team either found other jobs or took a leave of absence.
Artifact, as we said before, was an artificial intelligence-powered news feed application. The platform had a system that offered personalized recommendations to its users. Yahoo News, which has 185 million monthly visitors, also made such a move to integrate it into itself.
A wide range of users will now be able to benefit from this technology. From categorization to personalization, Artifact’s AI-powered features will start appearing in Yahoo News. In the future, it will be added to other Yahoo products and applications. Both parties stated that the integration will not be immediate and will take place gradually.
