Artifact previously announced it was shutting down its small but beloved AI-powered news app about two months ago. It was expected that this would be the end of Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger's latest project, but that turns out not to be the case.
The company announced in a statement on its Artifact website that the app and its underlying technology have been acquired by Yahoo. “While Artifact will no longer function as a standalone app or site, its unique AI-powered personalization technology and other features will remain and will be integrated across Yahoo, including Yahoo News, in the coming months,” the company said in a statement. revealed.
We previously communicated our decision to scale back operations of the Artifact app. As you may have noticed, the core news reading functionality remained operational until April 2nd, a little longer than planned. Artifact will no longer function as a standalone app or site, but its unique AI-powered personalization technology and other features will remain and be integrated across Yahoo, including Yahoo News, in the coming months. We believe the technology created by Artifact will have even greater impact as the Yahoo News Network ranks as the No. 1 news and information asset in the U.S. in 2023.
Of course, Yahoo also publicly announced the acquisition, stating that the underlying technology will help Yahoo News grow, and that the investment “supports Yahoo's commitment to delivering trusted news and information to hundreds of millions of users around the world.” moving forward and accelerating our vision.” We offer a more personalized experience for discovering news and information across our platforms. ”
Kat Downs Mulder, SVP and general manager of Yahoo News, said in a statement that the company plans to integrate Artifact's artificial intelligence technology into Yahoo News and possibly other products in the company's portfolio. Ta.
Yahoo was one of the first companies to combine human and algorithmic news curation. Since then, the landscape of machine learning and personalization has changed dramatically, and Artifact has innovated with best-in-class technology to keep up with the times. Artifact has become a beloved product. We're excited to continue growing that technology and furthering our mission to be the trusted guide to digital information and the best curator of connecting people to the content that matters most.
Artifact CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom said users loved Artifact and that Yahoo would bring the scale needed to continue the technology.
“We've built an intuitive product experience that our users love, and we've given millions of people an opportunity to benefit. Yahoo is committed to connecting people to trusted news and information sources. We bring the scale to help our products achieve what we envision, while remaining true to our belief that content is just as important as before. We are now able to deliver a great experience to our users. Yahoo recognizes the opportunity and we couldn't be more excited to see what we've been building live through Yahoo News. .”
Yahoo said Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger “will work with Yahoo in an advisory capacity during this transition period,” but neither will remain at Yahoo in long-term roles. And with the Artifact app already removed from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, we're officially in a new era for Artifact, or at least its underlying technology.
For me, it's like coming back to the Apple News app. Or Reddit.
