Yahoo Acquires Artifact: AI News Platform Founded by Instagram Co-Founders
Yahoo announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Artifact, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered news platform launched earlier in 2023 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of Instagram. Yahoo plans to integrate Artifact's technology across its various news and web services throughout the United States.
This acquisition highlights the challenges faced by many media startups. While established tech giants like Alphabet (Google's parent company) and Meta (formerly Facebook) dominate the online advertising market, smaller platforms struggle to secure a significant share of advertising revenue, hindering their growth.
Artifact to Shut Down, But Technology Lives On at Yahoo:
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| Yahoo Acquires AI-Powered News Platform Artifact |
Artifact itself announced in January 2024 that it would be ceasing operations due to a limited market opportunity. However, Yahoo sees value in Artifact's AI-powered recommendation engine and other features. These technologies will be used to personalize content delivery and enhance Yahoo's overall news operations, allowing them to reach a wider audience with targeted news articles.
It's important to note that Yahoo already owns several well-known news brands, including TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance. Additionally, they hold a minority stake in Taboola, another content recommendation platform.
Yahoo's Acquisition Strategy:
Financial details of the acquisition haven't been disclosed by Yahoo. The company itself was acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion in 2021.
Systrom and Krieger, while no longer directly involved with Artifact, will reportedly work with Yahoo in an advisory role during this transition period. They previously left Meta, then known as Facebook, in late 2018 due to reported differences in vision for Instagram's future with CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This acquisition signals Yahoo's continued investment in the news sector and its focus on leveraging technology to deliver personalized content to its users. It remains to be seen how effectively Yahoo can integrate Artifact's technology and whether it will be enough to compete with the dominance of established tech giants in the online advertising market.
(Via)