An AI-driven news application named Particle, developed by ex-Twitter engineers, is now capable of keeping up with breaking news from both podcasts and online articles.

Just before its latest Android launch, Particle unveiled a functionality known as Podcast Clips, which finds the most captivating and pertinent moments from a variety of podcasts, incorporating those clips next to corresponding news articles in its feed.

This means instead of wading through an entire podcast to catch 45 seconds of engaging commentary, you can listen to the clip while perusing the news on Particle. Alternatively, you can opt to read the transcript of the clip, with the words highlighted in real-time as they are spoken.

“We basically capture that for every news item — if there’s a relevant podcast discussing it, we’ve gathered those segments,” stated Particle CEO Sara Beykpour, who was formerly Twitter’s Senior Director of Product Management, in an interview with TechCrunch. “It provides an engaging way to get insights on what people are discussing about a story while you’re reading it.”

This enhancement recognizes a transformation in the news landscape that has been developing over the years. More individuals are sourcing their news from podcasts, considering them as credible outlets, and the format is becoming a go-to for urgent news and significant statements from public figures.

Tech executives, in particular, are reaching out to accommodating podcast hosts to share their narratives instead of dealing with traditional media channels, as reported by Bloomberg in 2024.

This elevates the importance of podcasts if one aims to stay updated with the news.

Beykpour mentions that Particle employs embedding models to determine when podcasts are related to specific news topics. These models are supplied by the same firms that create LLM models, though they do not pertain to generative AI technologies, she clarifies.

“We utilize vector embeddings to ascertain these segments of podcasts relate to varied stories,” notes Beykpour. “A single podcast may touch on 10 or 20 stories, so we leverage AI for understanding that. Additionally, we employ AI for some aspects of the clipping process, including determining when to commence and conclude a clip.”

The organization utilizes technology from ElevenLabs for transcription. However, some of the technology that dictates where to clip the audio is integral to Particle’s proprietary methods.

The initiative to utilize podcasts for gaining insights into news-related commentary is also being examined closely by newsrooms today. As reported by Nieman Lab this month, The New York Times has been employing a tailored AI tool that uses LLMs to transcribe and summarize fresh episodes of various right-leaning and conservative podcasts to better grasp what influencers from that sphere are expressing about current events.

Particle’s Podcast Clips function is not exclusively linked to news articles. Since the app recognizes various entities — including individuals, locations, or objects — users can visit the page of notable persons, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to review all his podcast appearances presented in a feed format.

Particle has also been working on additional features. The company has initiated its first monetization effort with Particle+, a voluntary subscription priced at $2.99/month (or $29.99/year) that grants access to premium functionalities. These include the option to use natural language to obtain news summaries in a preferred style; select from various voices during the personalized audio feed; “Listen to the News”; unlimited crossword puzzles; the ability to ask private questions to its AI chatbot; and more.

The Android version also introduces several other noteworthy changes. The browsing tab now features timely topics, such as the 2026 Winter Olympics, in addition to standard sections like politics, technology, or entertainment. Furthermore, when clicking on an entity, users will observe a fresh page presenting definitions, stories, articles, related entities, and associated topics.

Particle has not disclosed information regarding user engagement stats or conversion rates, but Beykpour did mention the app’s global audience prior to the Android launch. Weekly, 55% of Particle’s users are located outside the U.S., with India (15%) being its largest market following the U.S.