An AI news app named Particle, created by former Twitter engineers, now tracks breaking news on podcasts and online. Before its Android launch, Particle introduced Podcast Clips, a feature that highlights significant moments from podcasts and integrates them with related news stories. This addition allows users to listen to insightful podcast clips while reading the news or read the transcript with highlighted text.
Sara Beykpour, Particle’s CEO and former Senior Director of Product Management at Twitter, explained that the app aggregates podcast clips for news stories to provide a breadth of commentary on current events. The integration of podcasts in news highlights a growing trend where podcasts are becoming a primary news source. Individuals increasingly rely on podcasts for news, making their role in the media landscape more significant.
Particle employs embedding models to ascertain relevant podcasts to news events without using generative AI technologies. Vector embeddings help recognize related podcast segments, while AI determines the start and end points of audio clips. For transcription, Particle utilizes tech from ElevenLabs but has its proprietary methods for clipping audio.
Furthermore, the app’s Podcast Clips feature isn’t limited to news stories but includes insights on individuals, showcasing appearances by figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on various podcasts. Particle has also begun monetizing through a subscription service, Particle+, offering features like personalized audio, unlimited puzzles, and private AI chatbot queries.
With its Android release, Particle introduced timely categories like the 2026 Winter Olympics and improved entity pages featuring definitions, related articles, and topics. Despite not disclosing user data or conversion rates, Particle’s international user base is substantial, with 55% residing outside the U.S., and India as the second-largest market.