Reviving the Digital Hub: Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian Join Forces to Transform Digg with AI

The founder of Digg, Kevin Rose, has joined forces with his former adversary Alexis Ohanian to acquire the once-thriving content aggregator, betting on a resurgence of the platform powered by artificial intelligence, which previously attracted around 40 million monthly users.

Established in 2004 by a 27-year-old Rose, Digg was at one point hailed as the «homepage of the internet,» competing with Reddit, which was co-founded by Ohanian himself.

However, the platform began to decline following its 2012 acquisition by New York’s tech incubator Betaworks. LinkedIn owned by Microsoft, secured its most significant assets, including patents, and since then, Digg has shifted towards news curation.

After acquiring Digg for an undisclosed amount, Rose and Ohanian announced on Wednesday their intention to breathe new life into the platform by utilizing their knowledge of social media and reinstating its nostalgic original interface.

In its early days, Digg allowed users to «digg» or «bury» content, an early form of how social media platforms identify and promote viral stories today.

The duo also aims to implement AI-enhanced curation to mitigate misinformation and hostile discourse.

«We’ve recently reached a turning point where AI can serve as a beneficial co-pilot for users and moderators, enhancing but not replacing human interaction,» stated Rose.

He noted that he had received multiple offers over the years to purchase Digg, but it «never felt right» until now.

Invitations for the updated version will be sent out in the coming weeks as Digg gets ready to re-enter a competitive social media arena, where smaller entities like Pinterest are vying for advertising revenue and user engagement against larger companies such as Meta.

Justin Mezzell, a longtime collaborator of Rose with experience in Google and Facebook, will take the helm as CEO of Digg.

The acquisition is supported by venture capital firms True Ventures, where Rose is a partner, and Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. Rose will serve as the chair of Digg’s board and a key advisor.

Ohanian is also involved in a bid led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to take over TikTok’s operations in the United States.

© Thomson Reuters 2025

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