Yahoo announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Artifact, the AI-driven news platform co-founded by Instagram’s creators.
The technology from Artifact will be integrated across Yahoo’s news and other web services in the United States.
This acquisition underscores the ongoing challenges faced by media startups in generating revenue, particularly as Big Tech giants like Alphabet and Meta dominate advertising sales.
In January, Artifact announced in a blog post that it would wind down its app operations, citing a lack of significant market opportunity to justify continued investment.
Yahoo, which also owns news brands such as TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance, stated that Artifact’s AI-powered recommendation engine and other features will enhance its news operations and deliver personalized content to its audience.
Additionally, Yahoo holds a minority stake in the content recommendation platform Taboola.
While financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, Yahoo was acquired by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion in 2021.
Artifact was launched in early 2023 by Systrom and Mike Krieger, former employees of Meta, formerly known as Facebook, following the acquisition of Instagram in 2012.
Systrom and Krieger departed from Meta in late 2018, reportedly due to strained relations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and differences in their visions for Instagram.
During the transition, Systrom and Krieger will serve in an advisory capacity for Yahoo, as stated by the company in a statement.
