Yahoo has announced its acquisition of Artifact, an AI-driven news platform founded by the co-founders of Instagram. This move is part of Yahoo's strategy to enhance its news services and personalise content delivery across its platforms. The acquisition underscores the challenges media startups face in generating revenue amid the dominance of tech giants like Alphabet and Meta Platforms in the advertising market.

Artifact had previously decided to wind down its app operations, citing limited market opportunities. However, Yahoo sees potential in Artifact's AI-powered recommendation engine and other features to bolster its news operations. This acquisition aligns with Yahoo's existing portfolio, which includes news brands like TechCrunch, Engadget, and Yahoo Finance, as well as a minority stake in Taboola, a content recommendation platform.

Yahoo, now under the ownership of private equity firm Apollo Global Management since 2021, aims to leverage Artifact's technology to deliver personalised content and scale its news offerings. The co-founders of Artifact, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, who previously worked at Meta (formerly Facebook), will advise Yahoo during the transition. Their departure from Meta in 2018 was reportedly due to differences in vision with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Yahoo did not disclose the financial details of the acquisition. However, the incorporation of Artifact's technology signals Yahoo's commitment to innovation in the competitive landscape of digital media.