Failed 2024

    Artifact

    Even Instagram's co-founders (Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger) couldn't make a personalized AI news app work. The market is too small.

    Founded → Closed

    2022 → 2024

    Funding Raised

    $20M

    Industry

    Social Media/News

    Country

    USA

    IdeaProof AI Failure Score

    42/100
    Market Fit RiskBurn Rate RiskFounder Risk
    Market Fit Risk
    35
    Burn Rate Risk
    40
    Founder Risk
    10

    Full Analysis

    Artifact was an AI-powered news aggregation app built by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The app used machine learning to personalize news feeds. Despite strong reviews and founder pedigree, Artifact couldn't attract enough users in a market dominated by Twitter, Google News, and Apple News. The founders shut it down in early 2024, calling the market "too small" to build a large business.

    Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?

    IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Artifact.