Nvidia Confirms Major OpenAI Investment Amid AI Funding Race 
Google Halts UK YouTube TV Measurement Service After Legal Action 
Oracle Plans $45–$50 Billion Funding Push in 2026 to Expand Cloud and AI Infrastructure 
Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Approval of AI Chatbots Allowing Sexual Interactions With Minors 
Microsoft AI Spending Surge Sparks Investor Jitters Despite Solid Azure Growth 
Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate 
China Approves First Import Batch of Nvidia H200 AI Chips Amid Strategic Shift 
SpaceX Updates Starlink Privacy Policy to Allow AI Training as xAI Merger Talks and IPO Loom 
Apple Forecasts Strong Revenue Growth as iPhone Demand Surges in China and India 
SpaceX Seeks FCC Approval for Massive Solar-Powered Satellite Network to Support AI Data Centers 
NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon Eye Massive OpenAI Investment Amid $100B Funding Push 
Sandisk Stock Soars After Blowout Earnings and AI-Driven Outlook 
Federal Judge Signals Possible Dismissal of xAI Lawsuit Against OpenAI 
Amazon Stock Dips as Reports Link Company to Potential $50B OpenAI Investment 
Apple Faces Margin Pressure as Memory Chip Prices Surge Amid AI Boom 
Instagram is retiring the standalone IGTV app, but that does not mean it is veering away from video content. Closing IGTV is part of the company’s plans to further focus on videos, especially Reels.
The company published a blog post on Monday titled “Continuing our video investment on Instagram,” possibly to reiterate its commitment to establishing Instagram as a video-sharing app. And when Instagram says it will continue investing in video content on its platform, the company appears to be primarily referring to Reels.
The Meta-owned social media platform introduced Reels in 2020 as an apparent response to the skyrocketing popularity of TikTok at the time. TikTok announced last September that it has reached 1 billion monthly active users just three years after it launched worldwide. In comparison, Instagram reached the same milestone in 2018 or more than seven years after it was officially released.
Instagram emphasized in the same blog post how important Reels has become for the platform. “Reels also continues to be the largest contributor to engagement growth on Instagram, as more people watch reels to be entertained, go deeper with their interests, or discover new creators,” the company said.
Now, to be able to focus its resources on Reels, Instagram intends to prioritize Reels that will continue to be hosted in its main app, along with other video-sharing features. The blog post did not mention when the standalone IGTV app will close, but the company confirmed to TechCrunch that it will be removed from app stores in mid-March.
As part of its plan to promote Reels further, Instagram will also introduce new ways to incentivize creators. The company will stop supporting In-Stream video ads, which were used on IGTV content, but it will start testing a “new ad experience” by placing ads on Reels.
The commitment to focus on Reels and other video content should not be surprising. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, notably said last July that Instagram is “no longer just a square photo-sharing app.”
Meanwhile, Instagram also confirmed new video features are in the works. Users can expect to see a tap-to-mute button and an option to watch videos on full screen.
Photo by Deeksha Pahariya on Unsplash
