Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed their AI-powered news aggregate app Artifact. The decision was made because the app’s market opportunity wasn’t large enough to justify expenditure.
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are closing their AI-powered news aggregator app Artifact after a year. This decision was made because the app’s market opportunity wasn’t big enough to support continued expenditure.
Artifact CEO Systrom wrote in a blog post that startups must know when to make painful decisions. He stressed that acknowledging when an opportunity isn’t as big as projected lets the team focus on newer, more meaningful enterprises that can reach more people.
Artifact Features Changes
Google Play Store named Artifact “everyday essential app of the year” and will change. The team can’t support monitoring and oversight, thus adding new comments and articles will be disabled. However, user profiles will display existing postings.
Ability to read news temporarily
Core news reading will continue on Artifact till February. Despite the app’s discontinuation, Systrom worried about news publications’ closures and struggles. He expects technology can help preserve, sustain, and build these institutions, especially AI for scalability.
Shutdown Due to News Aggregator Slowdown
Artifact’s closure follows a trend of declining news aggregator usage.
Conclusion
Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed their AI-powered news aggregate app Artifact. The app’s small market possibility prompted the decision. Artifact will disable new comments and posts but keep current ones. News reading will remain in the app until February. This decision reflects news aggregators’ declining usage.
