Yahoo announces the acquisition of Artifact, the news discovery platform created by Instagram cofounders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger

Yahoo announced that it has acquired Artifact, the AI-driven news aggregation and discovery platform created by Instagram cofounders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Artifact will no longer operate as a standalone app, but the proprietary AI-powered personalization technology and other features will be integrated across Yahoo, including the Yahoo News app, in the months to come. The technology Artifact has created will be even more impactful with the scale of the Yahoo News network, ranked the #1 news and information property in the US in 2023.

Artifact’s mission was focused on delivering the most relevant stories to users through AI, utilizing proprietary technology to provide curated news and content experiences. As a trusted guide to the internet, Yahoo helps people achieve their goals online, including connecting with high quality content they care about. This investment advances Yahoo’s commitment to bringing trusted news and information to hundreds of millions of users globally, and accelerates our vision to offer a more personalized experience for discovering news and information across platforms.

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“Yahoo was one of the first to combine human and algorithmic curation of news. Since then, the landscape of machine learning and personalization has changed dramatically and Artifact has innovated with best-in-class technology to meet the moment,” said Kat Downs Mulder, SVP and General Manager of Yahoo News. “Artifact has become a beloved product and we’re thrilled to be able to continue to grow that technology and further our mission of becoming the trusted guide to digital information and the best curator connecting people to the content that matters most to them.”

“We built an intuitive product experience that users love and has the opportunity to benefit millions of people. Yahoo brings the scale to help the product achieve what we envisioned while upholding the belief that connecting people to the trusted sources of news and information is as critical as ever,” said Kevin Systrom, CEO and Co-Founder of Artifact. “AI has allowed us to give users a better experience discovering great content they care about. Yahoo recognizes that opportunity, and we could not be more excited to see what we’ve built live on through Yahoo News.”

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Artifact’s AI-powered discovery engine surfaces content users most want to see and becomes more attuned to their interests over time. The result is a personalized feed of news stories that’s extremely effective at helping users discover stories they want to read. In addition to curation, Artifact brings a host of features aimed at improving the quality of the experience, from easy-access to top news, to link-sharing capabilities, to tools to prevent clickbait proliferation, and more. Bringing these capabilities into the Yahoo portfolio accelerates the opportunity to connect users with even richer content experiences and tailored personalization.

Yahoo’s acquisition of Artifact closed on March 29, 2024. Artifact’s co-founders, CEO, Kevin Systrom and CTO, Mike Krieger, will work with Yahoo in an advisory capacity during this transition.