Yahoo made a big move on Tuesday, as the web services provider announced the acquisition of Artifact, which is an AI-powered news platform founded by the creators of Instagram. The company plans to integrate Artifact's technology into its news and web services offerings across the United States.
The deal comes at a time when smaller media outlets are struggling to boost their revenue, especially when faced with the dominance of tech giants like Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which often scoop up the lion's share of advertising revenue.
With brands like TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance under its belt, Yahoo highlighted that Artifact's AI-powered recommendation engine and other capabilities will enhance its news operations, enabling the provision of personalized content to a wider audience, as per a report by Reuters.
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In early 2023, Systrom and Mike Krieger together had introduced Artifact. Before this venture, they were part of Meta, formerly known as Facebook. The duo later decided to leave the tech giant in late 2018. Media reports had suggested that their departure resulted from strained relations with Mark Zuckerberg.
In a blog post published in January, Artifact openly acknowledged the restricted market prospects for its app, which ultimately led to the decision to close down its operations.
The company had stated that the market opportunity wasn't big enough to justify continued investment in this direction.
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