AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

News organisations have been experimenting with artificial intelligence for several years, but most of those efforts have remained limited in scope. A lesser-known startup, Symbolic.ai, aims to integrate AI more deeply into newsroom operations and has now secured a significant agreement with News Corp, the media group controlled by Rupert Murdoch.

News Corp, whose significant properties include MarketWatch, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal, will begin using Symbolic.ai’s platform within its financial news division, Dow Jones Newswires.

Former eBay CEO Devin Wenig and Ars Technica co-founder Jon Stokes founded Symbolic.ai. The company says its AI tools are designed to assist journalists in producing high-quality reporting and content, and claim productivity improvements of up to 90% on complex research tasks.

According to the company, the platform is designed to streamline editorial workflows by supporting tasks such as newsletter creation, audio transcription, fact-checking, headline optimisation, and search engine optimisation, among other newsroom functions.

News Corp has previously shown openness to integrating AI across its media operations. In 2024, the company entered a multi-year partnership with OpenAI, agreeing to license its content to the AI firm. In November, the media group also indicated that it was exploring additional licensing arrangements with other AI companies.

The deal with Symbolic.ai signals a move beyond experimentation, as News Corp begins deploying AI tools more directly within its core news production workflows.