Particle: The AI News App that Tracks the Latest Podcast News
Former Twitter engineers have designed a novel AI news application known as Particle, which is capable of tracking the latest news from both the web and podcasts. The app extends the boundaries of news consumption by integrating podcast clips into its news feed, providing users with a more comprehensive understanding of global events and discussions.
Introducing Podcast Clips
Prior to its recent launch on Android, Particle introduced an intriguing feature known as Podcast Clips. This feature employs AI technology to search for the most relevant and interesting moments across a wide range of podcasts. These clips are then included alongside related news articles in the app’s feed. This unique approach allows users to listen to a brief clip instead of an entire podcast to catch the critical 45 seconds of insightful commentary. Additionally, users have the option to read the transcript of the clip, with words being highlighted as they are spoken.
Image credits:Particle
Revolutionizing News Consumption
Particle CEO Sara Beykpour, who previously served as the senior director of product management at Twitter, has expressed her excitement about the potential of this new feature. She explained that the feature is designed to provide a unique perspective on the news by showcasing what people are talking about. The introduction of Podcast Clips represents a significant shift in the way we consume news, acknowledging the growing popularity and trust in podcasts as a reliable source of information.
Podcasts have become a popular platform for breaking news and major announcements from public figures, particularly among tech CEOs. As reported by Bloomberg in 2024, many CEOs now prefer to share their talking points through friendly podcast hosts rather than traditional media outlets. This shift underlines the importance of staying updated with podcast news to stay abreast of the latest developments.
How Particle Works
Beykpour shed light on how Particle uses embedding models to understand the relationship between podcasts and news stories. These models are provided by the same companies responsible for LLM models. However, Particle’s AI technology stands out for its ability to identify relevant parts of podcasts that relate to different stories, as well as determining the start and end of a clip. The transcription technology is provided by ElevenLabs, but the precise audio cutting technology remains a part of Particle’s proprietary technology.
Image credits:Particle
Additional Features and Monetization
Particle has also introduced a premium service known as Particle+, available at a monthly subscription fee of $2.99 or an annual fee of $29.99. Subscribers gain access to a suite of premium features, including the ability to use natural language to summarize news in a preferred style, choose from different voices for the custom audio stream, unlimited crosswords, and private question handling with its AI chatbot.
With Particle’s Android version, the Browse tab now includes news articles on trending events such as the 2026 Winter Olympics, in addition to typical sections like politics, technology, and entertainment. Tapping on an entity now opens a new page with a definition, stories, articles, related entities, and related topics.
Image credits:Particle
While Particle has yet to share data on user activity or conversion rates, Beykpour has highlighted the app’s international appeal. On a weekly basis, 55% of Particle’s users are outside of the US, with India being its largest market after the US.
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