Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we look at OpenAI, which could charge $20,000 per month for a specialized agent of AI, the unexpected return by early internet darling Digg and a company that genetically engineers mice to have mammoth like fur. Let’s get started.
OpenAI may charge up to $20,000 a month to provide specialized AI “agents.” A report from The Information states that OpenAI plans to launch several “agents” tailored to different applications. One of the rumored agents will be priced at $20,000 per month and be used to support “PhD level research”. This staggering figure shows how much money OpenAI needs now. The company lost $5 billion last year, after paying for running costs, including expenses, as well as other costs. The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating Scale AI for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. This law regulates unpaid wage, misclassification of workers as contractors, and illegal reprisals against workers. According to a source with knowledge of the matter, the investigation has been ongoing since at least August 2024. A spokesperson for Scale AI said to TechCrunch the investigation began during the previous administration, and that the startup believed its work had been misunderstood at the time by regulators. A federal judge
denied Elon Musk’s motion for an injunction to stop OpenAI’s planned conversion into a for profit company, citing lack of evidence. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that the court was prepared to hold a speedy trial based on the claim of OpenAI’s conversion plans being illegal. This is the latest development in Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, of abandoning their original nonprofit mission.
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Welcome Back, Digg! The original founder Kevin Rose is now back in charge of the news aggregator. He’s joined by Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian. Rose told TechCrunch the revived Digg wouldn’t be “like your old-school forums.” Read more.
Google look at my screen. Google announced a new Gemini feature, “Screenshare,” at Mobile World Congress in 2025. Users can share what is on their phone screen with the AI chatbot. They can also ask questions about what the AI sees. Read More
A “AI phone” that costs less than $1K. Deutsche Telekom has announced it will be building an “AI Phone,” which is a low-cost device created in collaboration with Perplexity. DT plans to reveal the device in the second part of the year and will begin selling it for less than $1000 in 2026. Read More
I’m artificial intelligence! The UCSD research org Hao AI Lab threw AI model into a Super Mario Bros. Emulator to benchmark performance. Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 was the most successful, while OpenAI’s GPT-4o had a difficult time. Volkswagen’s cheapest ever EV: Read More
Volkswagen revealed this week the ID EVERY1. According to a source who is familiar with the model, the four-door hatchback was the first to be released with Rivian’s software and architecture. Read More
Go ghost mode: Being ghosted by investors is never fun, especially if you are a founder looking for capital. TechCrunch interviewed several VCs to find out why they ghost founders and how they can make a better impression. ChatGPT can edit your code directly: In the latest version of macOS ChatGPT, you can edit code directly in supported developer tools. ChatGPT Plus subscribers, Pro subscribers, and Team members can access the feature right now. The company plans to expand the feature to all users next week. Read More
An interesting use case for AI: Google has now open-sourced SpeciesNet, a model that uses camera trap photos to identify animal species. Read More
New way to watch YouTube ad free: YouTube Lite, a new subscription tier which allows users to watch most videos ad free for $7.99 a month. It will not have Premium features such as background play, downloads or the ability for music videos to be watched ad-free. Read More
The woolly mouse is here: Colossal Biosciences has made a cute breakthrough by genetically modifying mice to have mammoth like fur. These are the cutest animals I’ve ever seen. I can’t recommend watching this video enough. Read More
Analysis of
Why is Signal such a hit in the Netherlands? Privacy-focused messaging app Signal has been flying high in the Dutch app stores this past month, often sitting at the top as the most downloaded free app on iOS and Android across all categories. While it’s difficult to pinpoint one specific reason as to why, Bits of Freedom senior policy adviser Rejo Zenger is not surprised. Recent developments in the U.S. have seen the big platform providers align with the new Trump administration, and Europe’s reliance on technology from huge private U.S. companies has become a focal point in that debate. Read more
Cody Corrall is the Audience Development Producer at TechCrunch. Based in Chicago, he previously ran social media accounts for BuzzFeed News and WTTW’s daily flagship program on PBS, “Chicago Tonight.” When they’re not tweeting, Cody can be found yelling about vampires on the Into the Twilight podcast.
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