Vivek Ramasamy seeks a ‘shift in the company’s strategy,’ the filing said|Gage Skidmore|CC BY-SA 2.0

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramasamy recently acquired a 7.7% stake in BuzzFeed, according to a regulatory filing revealed yesterday. He plans to be an activist investor in the company.

The MAGA-aligned entrepreneur seeks a “shift in the Company’s strategy,” the filing said.

Shares of BuzzFeed gained about 20% yesterday. The stock initially popped more than 82% earlier in the day, but since the beleaguered media company’s IPO in 2021, its shares have fallen more than 90%.

BuzzFeed was a popular site in the 2010s, but in recent years, the company has been struggling just like other digital media publishers due to plummeting referral traffic via social media and artificial intelligence.

It sold off Complex Networks in February for $108 million, three years after buying it for $300 million.

Last year, BuzzFeed cut 15% of its staff, along with its Pulitzer Prize-winning news site.