Instagram founders pull the plug on Artifact news app

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the two original founders of Instagram, are pulling the plug on news app Artifact. According to Systrom, the market is not large enough to justify future investments. Artifact will stop functioning at the end of February.

CEO Kevin Systrom shared the news via a blog post on Medium. The man writes that Artifact users can no longer post comments or posts. After all, all these functions would require manpower and resources. The basic functionality of the news app will remain available until the end of February. It is not clear on what date the plug will finally be pulled.

Artifact is a news app launched in early 2023. The app would use ‘artificial intelligence’ to learn what interests the user and tailor the news offering accordingly. Users could share news articles and the app also had a feed displaying shared news articles.

Artifact app in Apple App Store