Artifact by Instagram Co-founders is Shutting Down just a Year after Launch!
Money and talent don’t always equal success and Artifact is living (or dying) proof of that. Artifact was an AI news platform that sounded a lot like a game-changer at launch, a year later, not so much.
The AI-driven platform was capable of rewriting news articles using A.I and even allowed people to mark “clickbait” articles (massive wow feature eh?). Its Reddit-like commenting system was something else that gave it the spotlight.
The founders (Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger) were literally the people who invented Instagram and later sold it to Meta (then Facebook). Hence, they clearly were people of talent, as well as money.
However, the founders said there isn’t enough “market opportunity” to keep pouring money into the app.
This leaves quite the gap in the market. Despite all the A.I advancements, there aren’t apps exactly like this. Something that delivers us A.I-powered news summaries, but more importantly the ability to mark Clickbaits.
If you need an Artifact news alternative, Capsule, an A.I-powered news app that aims to become the “spotify of the news industry” is something that may interest you.
In the farewell announcement, Kevin says something in the context of startups that’s just golden. He says-
“often making the tough call earlier is better for everyone involved.”.
Following this one simple rule, a lot of startups could save a ton of money, time, energy and probably find success sooner than they otherwise would.
Kevin of course says that he isn’t giving up and “will continue to build new things”. The world can’t wait to see what the Instagram founders come up with next, can you?
Do you think your app or something you know can bridge the gap? Mail us at jyoti@updateland.com
