The soon-to-be-former CEO reflects on the rise and fall of BuzzFeed, its recent sale to Byron Allen, and how a pivot to AI can give the brand new relevance.

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Jonah Peretti, outgoing CEO of BuzzFeed, discusses the $120M sale of 52% of BuzzFeed to media mogul Byron Allen, his transition to president of BuzzFeed AI, and the broader collapse of the digital media model that depended on social platform distribution. He reflects on BuzzFeed's rise and fall, the 'original sin' of betting on Facebook carriage fees, the creator economy disrupting professional media, and his new ambitions to build AI-powered apps and social products including BF Island and Conjure. He also addresses Byron Allen's bold claim that BuzzFeed will compete with YouTube using AI, and why he believes direct audience relationships are now the only sustainable path for digital publishers.

Exclusive: Jonah Peretti explains why he sold BuzzFeed