--- title: "BuzzFeed Sells “Hot Ones” as It Pivots to AI-Generated Content" description: "Embattled media company BuzzFeed is selling off First We Feast, the company behind the extremely popular interview show called \"Hot Ones.\"" date: "2024-12-13" modified: "2024-12-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/buzzfeed-sells-hot-ones-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "buzzfeed" - "generative ai" - "the digest" --- # BuzzFeed Sells “Hot Ones” as It Pivots to AI-Generated Content ![Embattled media company BuzzFeed is selling off First We Feast, the company behind the extremely popular interview show called "Hot Ones."]() *\Image: First We Feast\* ## Cold Product Embattled media company [*BuzzFeed* is selling off First We Feast](), the company behind the extremely popular interview show called "Hot Ones," for $82.5 million to save itself from a mountain of debt. The deal will bring down the media empire's debt load from almost $124 million by $88.8 million, the [*New York Times* reports](). Perhaps unsurprisingly, *BuzzFeed* is using the opportunity to double down on its "pivot to AI" strategy, arguing that the tech will allow the company to pull itself out of a years-long struggle. "The sale of First We Feast and continued reduction of our convertible debt marks an important step in *BuzzFeed*, Inc.’s strategic transformation into a media company positioned to fully benefit from the ongoing AI revolution," *BuzzFeed* CEO Jonah Peretti said in a [statement](). "In the coming years, we will continue to invest in our most scalable and tech-enabled services, launching new AI-powered interactive experiences, and delivering for our loyal audience and business partners." ## Artificial Internet But whether unloading a beloved property built on human personalities in favor of automated content will pay off remains to be seen. After a disastrous 2023, *BuzzFeed*'s stock has been [recovering at a steady pace]() throughout this year. Its latest announcement that it would sell off First We Feast and its highly visible "Hot Ones," however, has sent the stock plunging by over 36 percent over the last five days. Its efforts to pivot toward AI haven't instilled much confidence, either. In March 2023, [*Futurism* found]() that the media company was using AI to quietly churn out repetitive, dull, and poorly-written travel guides. A [recipe-generating AI](), dubbed Botatouille, also [turned out to be a complete disaster](). In April 2023, the company [shut down]() the award-winning *BuzzFeed News,* causing its share price to plummet below the one-dollar mark, with the Securities Exchange Commission [warning]() that it could be delisted from the NASDAQ if it couldn't recover (its stock is currently floating around $3.43 per share.) Then in February of this year, *BuzzFeed* cut even more of its business by [selling Complex for a cool $108.6 million]() to raise some more cash. Peretti has previously promised investors that "generative AI will replace the majority of static content, and audiences will begin to expect all content to be curated and dynamic with embedded intelligence." Its latest decision to sell off an extremely popular — and likely cheaply produced — show led to plenty of mockery online. "That a dude with a couple cameras and a plate of appetizers can make something worth $82.5 million," one [BlueSky user wrote](), "and a media company looks at that and goes 'couldn't we make even more money if we had AI do it?' tells you exactly how stupid these people are." **More on BuzzFeed:** *[What Happened After BuzzFeed’s Pivot to AI: Catastrophic Stock Collapse]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()