Particle AI App Turns Podcasts Into News Clips

A new update to the AI-powered news app Particle is changing how audiences engage with podcasts and news, introducing a feature that automatically identifies and delivers the most relevant audio snippets from podcasts alongside related articles.

Developed by a team of former Twitter engineers, Particle has launched its “Podcast Clips” capability, an AI-driven tool that analyzes thousands of podcast episodes and surfaces short, contextually relevant clips directly in users’ news feeds. The move marks a significant step in blending audio and written media to save users time and enhance news discovery.

Bridging Podcasts and the News Feed

Traditionally, staying updated with podcast discussions required listening to entire episodes even when only a few seconds of commentary were newsworthy. Particle’s new feature aims to flip that model. Using advanced vector embedding models, not generative large-language models, the app identifies podcast segments related to specific news topics and extracts them into brief clips, often under a minute long. Users can then play these clips while reading associated news stories, or simply read a synced transcript with highlighted progress as the audio plays.

“We’ve done that basically for any news story, if there is a podcast that is talking about it, or relevant at all, we’ve got all those clips,” Particle CEO Sara Beykpour told TechCrunch. “It’s a really cool way, when you’re reading a story or learning about a story, to get a breath of what people are saying about this.”

According to Beykpour, because a single podcast episode can cover multiple stories, Particle’s AI analyzes relevance using embedding models to group audio segments with the proper news items before creating precise clips. The company also uses third-party tools, including transcription services from ElevenLabs, while retaining proprietary methods for determining where clips should begin and end.

A Richer, Customized News Experience

The Podcast Clips feature doesn’t just enrich individual stories, it enhances how users explore topics. Particle’s AI can recognize entities like people or companies, meaning users can visit a figure’s profile page (for example, tech leaders like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman) and see all relevant podcast appearances aggregated in one place, alongside related news articles and definitions.

This update arrives alongside Particle’s wider Android release, which brings a reworked browse tab featuring timely subjects, such as the 2026 Winter Olympics, and intuitive topic navigation across news, tech, politics, and entertainment.

Monetization and Premium Tools

Particle is also experimenting with monetization through "Particle+," a premium subscription tier priced at $2.99 per month or $29.99 annually. Subscribers receive enhanced tools, including tailored news summaries, multiple voice options for personalized audio feeds, unlimited crossword puzzles, access to an AI chatbot for private questions, and the “Listen to the News” feature that converts articles into spoken word.

Global Reach and Usage Trends

Although the company has not shared specific user-engagement figures, Beykpour noted that a significant portion of Particle’s audience is international. Before the Android expansion, roughly 55% of weekly users were outside the United States, with India representing the largest international market at about 15%.

Significance for the News Ecosystem

Particle’s innovation highlights a broader shift in how audiences consume media. Podcasts have become a trusted source of news and commentary for many listeners, and public figures increasingly use them as platforms for announcements and opinion, sometimes instead of traditional press outlets. By pulling out the most newsworthy moments and tying them directly to written stories, Particle is responding to evolving consumption habits and the growing desire for efficient, multimodal news experiences.

As news formats continue to converge and attention spans tighten, tools that help users extract relevant insights from long-form audio content may become central to how people stay informed. Particle’s latest update is a significant step in that direction.