[1][2][3][4] Called an "Instagram of news" by The New York Times, the company's platform distills original and sourced content into images and video, then distributes it through mobile phone and desktop computer applications.

[2][5][6] Fast Company reported that Zig had 400,000 users as of June 2018 following investment from Graydon Carter, Ronald Meyer, Quincy Jones, and LiveNation.

[7] In 2016, cofounders Joshua James and Adam Platzner approached Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter to offer a modern, visual solution to changing magazine tastes and consumer news consumption.

[2][8] The New York Times reported that "at the time, Mr. Carter was mulling the state of news; he recalled an assistant pointing out to him that millennials ‘think in more visual terms, than in textual terms.’" With cofounder John Tornow, James and Platzner built an algorithm that captures personalized consumer data from social media preferences.

"[7] CNBC explained that Zig "emphasizes photos over text" and reduces the time that consumers use to peruse the internet for news.