Why Medium is opting out of AI

Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is our Wednesday show, where we sit down with a guest, talk about their work and dive deep into the rest. This week we had Tony Stubblebine, the CEO of Medium.com, a publishing platform that he has helmed for more than a year.

Medium needs no introduction to the TechCrunch audience. I have read posts on its website. You have read posts on its website. I am sure that I, and maybe even you, have written something there as well. We know it, in other words.

You and I both are also aware, however, that Medium has gone through a number of versions over the years. Pivots, if you will. But what has been a steady focus in Medium’s life in recent years has been its subscription business. Medium offers a paid membership tier that costs $5 per month or $50 per year. And, Tony was willing to share, it’s growing once again and is heading toward a pretty key milestone.

We also got into:

• The business of the written word.
• Medium’s stance on AI and what its posture says about how the company views the value of writing. (More on the matter from TechCrunch here.)
• Why Medium thinks that everyone has something worth saying.

There’s a little bit of media insider chat during this podcast, which I was unable to self-edit away from the conversation. But, even if you are not a writer, Medium is a fascinating startup saga.