After a year of operation, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, co-founders of Instagram, have announced that they will be winding down their AI-powered news aggregator app, Artifact. The decision comes as they realized that the market opportunity for the app was not significant enough to justify additional investment.
In a blog post, Systrom, who is also the CEO of Artifact, emphasized the importance of making tough decisions as a startup. He stressed the need to recognize when an opportunity is not as large as anticipated in order to focus on newer, more impactful ventures that can reach a broader audience.
To reflect this change, Artifact will be undergoing some modifications. The ability to add new comments and posts will be removed due to the need for moderation and oversight, which the team cannot support going forward. However, existing posts will still be visible on user profiles.
Despite the closure of the app, Artifact plans to continue its core news reading capability until the end of February. Systrom expressed concerns about the current state of news publications, with many facing closures or challenges. He hopes that technology, particularly advancements like AI, can play a role in preserving, supporting, and growing these institutions.
The decision to shut down Artifact aligns with a broader trend of decreasing usage among news aggregators. It is clear that the market is shifting, and users are seeking different sources for their news consumption.
As technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how news publications adapt and find new ways to engage with their audiences. The closure of Artifact serves as a reminder that in the ever-changing landscape of startups and apps, tough decisions must be made to ensure long-term success and impact.
The source of the article is from the blog japan-pc.jp