Digg, the once-popular content aggregator that was a major player in the early days of social media, is making a comeback with a new AI-powered approach. Co-founder Kevin Rose has joined forces with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to acquire Digg, betting on artificial intelligence to revitalize the platform that once attracted around 40 million monthly visitors.
Launched in 2004 by Rose, Digg was considered the “homepage of the internet” and a major competitor to Reddit, which Ohanian co-founded. However, after its 2012 acquisition by Betaworks, Digg’s popularity declined, and its most valuable assets, including patents, were sold to LinkedIn. The platform then shifted its focus to curating news.
Rose and Ohanian, who bought Digg for an undisclosed sum, plan to use their social media expertise and restore the site’s nostalgic early interface. One of the key features of the original Digg was the ability for users to “digg” or “bury” content—an early precursor to the viral content curation techniques used by today’s social media platforms.
The duo’s vision for the new Digg includes utilizing AI-driven content curation to tackle challenges like misinformation and toxic discourse, ensuring that the platform remains a positive space for users. Rose explained that AI could serve as a helpful “co-pilot” to both users and moderators, enhancing human conversation rather than replacing it.
The revamped Digg will soon send out invites for early access, entering a crowded social media market where smaller platforms like Pinterest compete for ad revenue and user engagement against larger players like Meta. Rose’s long-time collaborator, Justin Mezzell, with a background in Google and Facebook, will take over as Digg’s CEO.
The acquisition is supported by venture capital firms True Ventures, where Rose is a partner, and Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. Rose will also serve as Digg’s board chair and key advisor. In addition to his role in Digg, Ohanian has joined a bid led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations.
