Jonah Peretti has never been one to follow the crowd. As the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, he’s spent nearly two decades redefining what digital media looks like—pushing boundaries, pivoting strategies, and embracing change. Now, Peretti is back in the spotlight with a bold new move: a $10 million investment in BuzzFeed Island, or “BF Island,” an AI-native social media platform designed to foster a more joyful and creatively expressive online community.
Reinvention at the Core of BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed’s story is a model of how to remain ahead of the curve. It initially became popular with viral quizzes and listicles that appeared to dominate the internet. Then it stunned critics with its attempts at serious journalism, starting BuzzFeed News—a daring experiment that ultimately closed in 2023.
But for each failure, there’s been innovation. From viral clips (such as the classic one wondering why Disney princes would make “bad boyfriend” material, clocking 77 million views) to big-ticket buyouts and offshoots, BuzzFeed has always bet on change. Occasionally, the gambles paid off. Occasionally not.
Peretti himself put it best:
“It’s not been 20 years of one job. It’s been 20 years of running a startup, then scaling a hyperscaling business, trying to figure out how to get the company public… and now the explosion in generative AI. There’s always something to keep the job fresh and new.”
What Is BuzzFeed Island?
BF Island is BuzzFeed’s new experiment—and one of its most ambitious to date. Though complete details are still confidential, Peretti characterizes it as a social network designed from scratch, centered on AI. The goal? To bring artificial intelligence together with content creation in a way that inspires happiness, promotes collaboration, and enables fun self-expression.
It’s not simply about doing what’s currently trendy in tech. Peretti is a proponent of transparency in the development process, frequently discussing new concepts before they hit release. His mantra: sharing early makes things better by bringing in collaboration and outside insight.
“When there’s a new computing platform, there’s an explosion of creativity,” Peretti said to Axios. “Those are the moments when you can build something new.”
High Risk, High Reward
The transition into AI and social media isn’t without challenge. BuzzFeed’s path has involved some significant missteps. Following going public in 2021 and buying Complex Networks for $300 million, the company subsequently sold Complex for $108 million and sold off its “First We Feast” brand for $82.5 million. Those choices, Peretti said, were motivated by a need to re-emphasize technology, adding that those assets were “more production and talent-heavy” than they were consistent with BuzzFeed’s fundamental strengths.
In the meantime, the company’s shares—initially trading at $10 per share—now trade at about $2.20, accounting for the difficulties of operating in an unstable media environment.
Nevertheless, Peretti does not flinch. He is frank about BF Island probably never breaking even in its first year, but views it as an investment in the future.
“Simply repeating the same thing over and over and hoping to grind it out is a more hazardous approach than innovating,” he stated. “Experimenting, testing new stuff, having an open mind, and finding new ways to win in a very challenging market—that’s where opportunity comes from.”
Tapping Into the AI Wave
Generative AI is remaking the way content is created, disseminated, and consumed. BuzzFeed has already tested AI-generated quizzes and tools, but BF Island represents a much larger step. The site is designed as a home for creativity, where users interact with AI not only as a tool but as a co-creator.
BuzzFeed’s track record of turning formats viral, combined with its roster of creative partners, provides the company with a strong advantage as it moves into this new territory. Peretti doesn’t see AI in terms of replacing human creativity, but rather of enhancing it.
What Comes Next
Jonah Peretti has made a career out of reinvention. Sometimes the concepts pay off spectacularly; sometimes they fail. But his continual penchant for venturing into the unknown—and making big bets on where technology and media are going—keeps BuzzFeed a company to watch.
Whether BF Island is a breakout hit or simply another rung on the ladder in BuzzFeed’s ongoing transformation, this much is certain: Peretti is still trying new things. And in today’s rapidly evolving online landscape, that might be the best bet of all.
