Yahoo on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Artifact, an AI-powered news platform co-founded by Instagram creators. The deal will see Yahoo integrate Artifact's innovative technology across its suite of news and online services across the United States.
The acquisition reflects the continued challenges media startups face in generating revenue, especially amid the dominance of advertising sales by tech giants like Alphabet and Meta Platforms.
In a blog post last January, Artifact acknowledged the limited market opportunity for its apps, which led to the decision to wind down. Yahoo, the parent company of well-known news organizations such as TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance, sees Artifact's AI-powered recommendation engine as a valuable addition to its news operations to enhance scalability and reach its audience. We are committed to delivering personalized content.
Additionally, Yahoo has a minority stake in Taboola, a content recommendation platform. Yahoo did not disclose financial details of the acquisition, but the company was acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 for $5 billion.
Artifact was founded in early 2023 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, former executives at Meta (formerly Facebook) who acquired Instagram in 2012. Systrom and Krieger's departure from Meta in late 2018 was reportedly due to tensions with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and divergent visions for Instagram's future.
Systrom and Krieger will serve as advisors to Yahoo during the transition period, the company said in a statement.
