Yahoo to acquire Artifact: On Tuesday, Yahoo announced its acquisition of Artifact, an AI-driven news platform founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of Instagram. Integrating Artifact's technology into Yahoo's various web services marks a strategic move to improve its news offerings amid a challenging landscape for media startups. 

The acquisition comes amidst the dominance of Big Tech giants like Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which continue to attract the majority of advertising revenue.

AI to offer personalised ads 

In a blog post earlier this year, Artifact indicated its decision to wind down operations due to limited market opportunities. Yahoo's acquisition might leverage Artifact's AI-powered recommendation engine and other features to boost its news operations and provide personalised content to its audience. 

Yahoo's portfolio includes well-known news brands such as TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance, along with a minority stake in the content recommendation platform Taboola.

While financial details of the acquisition remain undisclosed, Yahoo's ownership by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, following a $5 billion buyout in 2021, sets the context for its strategic investments. 

Addition to Yahoo’s ecosystem

Artifact, launched in 2023 by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, marks a major addition to Yahoo's ecosystem. Systrom and Krieger, who previously worked at Meta (formerly Facebook) after its acquisition of Instagram in 2012, departed the company in 2018 amidst reported disagreements with Meta's leadership.

As part of the acquisition, Systrom and Krieger will provide advisory support to Yahoo during the transition phase, signalling a collaborative effort to leverage their expertise and insights in shaping Yahoo's future endeavours in the news space.

(With Reuters inputs)