Artifact, an AI-powered news app, faces market challenges as Instagram co-founders say goodbye
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of Instagram, have unexpectedly decided to close down their much-anticipated news app, Artifact, just before it reaches its one-year milestone. Systrom made the announcement on Medium, stating that the app’s main features for reading news would still be available until the end of February, but the ability to comment and post has been disabled with immediate effect.
Known for its AI-centric functionalities and Reddit-like interactive environment, Artifact garnered attention not only for its famous founders, but also for its innovative approach to news consumption. The app’s editor-friendly features, such as its own author pages, had been widely praised, and it secured a prominent place in the Apple and Google app stores.
Systrom recognizes the challenges and opportunities
CEO Kevin Systrom stated in our blog post: “We’ve built something that a core group of users love, but we’ve come to the conclusion that the market opportunity isn’t large enough to justify continued investment in this way.” The termination process has already begun and users will not be able to add new comments or posts, although the platform will continue to offer news access until the end of February.
While Systrom remained tight-lipped about his future endeavors, the memo hinted at a possible venture into a new AI-focused project. “I’m personally excited to continue building new things, although only time will tell what that can be,” he expressed, highlighting the changing era of artificial intelligence that is shaping different aspects of our lives.
The journey of the artifact since January 2023
Since its launch in January 2023, Artifact has introduced a number of features such as AI-powered article summaries, the ability to comment in the app, and a unique feature that allows users to mark articles as click feeds and then rewrite them with AI.
The eight-person team working on Artifact is now breaking up as Systrom expressed his eagerness to take on new projects.
As Artifact fans bid farewell, they still have a few more weeks to enjoy the app’s features before it bids its final farewell to the digital world.
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