Imagine a news-reading platform that does more than just aggregate articles, almost like a 'Spotify for News'. Capsule, a Paris-startup, has set out to become precisely this. It's a venture designed to revolutionise the way users digest their daily happenings, combining Artificial Intelligence and human editorial expertise to provide a unique news-reading experience.
The intuitive interface of Capsule creates an experience similar to browsing social media platforms like TikTok, presenting news in a series of headlines with related images. Users can browse through posts from various platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, tap on any headline to read a summary, and then visit the source's website for the full article if they wish.
Jérôme Boé and Arthur de Villemandy, co-founders of the innovative platform, sought to make quality news more accessible by utilizing a team of human curators. They also intend to organize news 'playlists', adding recommendations much like how Spotify organizes music, enhancing the user experience.
Commenting on his venture, Boé said, "Capsule isn’t trying to be another Google News-style aggregator, but more than just a portal leading to a source. We delve deeper into each topic, cross-reference multiple sources and add extra data to give users a comprehensive picture.”
Using AI technology, Capsule distils the core essence and insights of an article, which the editorial team then enriches with further research. The startup employs a globally dispersed team of committed readers who serve as curators and contribute new content which conventional AI can't accomplish. However, the focus is centred on the quality and relevance of the content, intentionally disregarding metrics such as social shares or likes.
The interdisciplinary team which includes the curators and Capsule's editorial team carefully vet and verify all the news findings before presenting them in a compact format. This daily news digest typically includes 20 to 30 insights consisting of major news, emerging trends and other notable signals.
AI helps in curating related news stories beneath each article, which users can then explore to broaden their understanding, offering them a more in-depth reading experience. Unlike several other modern news-sharing apps, Capsule imposes no restriction on the news sources featured in its feed, with currently over 400 sources being tapped into.
Though the startup currently operates via bootstrapping, they are indeed open to a freemium business model in the future. The founders are confident in their unique proposal of a news platform and believe that with the right user experience and gaining traction, they could consider this model.
Platforms such as Capsule, along with no-code solutions like AppMaster's platform, represent the new wave of tech innovation. These solutions enable non-tech professionals and creators to build and customize their projects, in the case of AppMaster, web and mobile applications, and for Capsule, news reading experiences, elevating the overall user experience.
