An app that wanted to change the way we get news has shut down after running out of money

App Annie

Circa originally pitched itself as "best way to the the news on your phone."

Circa News, the mobile news app that was founded in 2011 and received $5.7 million in venture capitalist funding, is shutting down - at least for now.

Circa CEO and co-founder Matt Galligan announced on Wednesday that his app and website have been put on "indefinite hiatus" due to a lack of funding.

"Producing high-quality news can be a costly endeavor and without the capital necessary to support further production we are unable to continue," wrote Galligan in a lengthy paragraph on Medium. There apparently was a plan in place to monetize Circa News, but the startup was "unable to close a significant investment prior to becoming resource constrained."

"It's with a deep sadness that we find ourselves in this position," added Galligan, who noted that some members of Circa's 20-person team have already found jobs elsewhere.

In early May, Fortune reported that Circa was looking for a buyer after failing to close on a crucial investment. Nothing new has been published on Circa's website or iPhone app since June 21. Wednesday morning, the news service's editor-in-chief tweeted about the editorial team being left in the dark:

Back in 2011, the idea of a mobile-centric news service was pretty new. Now everyone is doing it, including Business Insider, The New York Times with NYT Now, and BuzzFeed News.

Circa originally differentiated itself by breaking news stories up into quickly digestiable bits. The app would also send push notifications for breaking stories and let readers follow along with story updates they cared about.

Circa never revealed how many users it had, but Galligan called its readership "modest" in his post announcing the shutdown.

According to Galligan, "we're still working through an opportunity to keep the technology and spirit of Circa alive." The Desk reported earlier this month that Daily Dot Media was interested in a possible acquisition of Circa.