Reddit Acquires Machine Learning Platform Spell to Boost Content Understanding
Reddit purchases Spell, a cloud platform for running machine learning experiments, to enhance its ad targeting and content recommendations. The acquisition brings Spell's team on board to help Reddit develop more relevant and safer community experiences.
Reddit acquires Spell, a cloud computing platform designed to run resource-intensive machine learning experiments without requiring specialized hardware. Founded by former Facebook engineer Serkan Piantino in 2016, Spell aims to provide the best possible platform for anyone developing software using Machine Learning and AI.
The social network currently uses machine learning for personalized recommendations, the new Discover Tab, safety initiatives, and targeted advertising. With this acquisition, Spell closes access to new commercial customers while some of its team members join Reddit to improve how the platform customizes ad placements, defines contextual relevance, and protects its communities.
Reddit Chief Product Officer Pali Bhat states that Spell's team is a great fit to help make Reddit simpler, richer, and more relevant. The acquisition aligns with Reddit's mission to ensure its AI work remains transparent and avoids perpetuating bias, with Spell providing tools to better understand the social network's content, communities, and users.