Welcome back to week in review. This week we’re looking at openai potentially charging $ 20,000 a month for a specialized AI agent, The Unexpected Return of Early-ENTERNET Darling Digg, A Company Genetaring Mice to Have Mammoth-Like Fur, and More! Let’s do this.
Openai Cold Charge up to $ 20,000 per month For specialized ai “agents.” According to a report from the information, openai intends to launch seveal “agent” products tailored for different applications. One of the rumored agents, Said to be priced at $ 20,000 a month, will be aimed at supporting “Phd-level research.” The Jaw-Dropping Figure is indicative of how much cash openai needs rights right now: The company lost roughly $ 5 billion last year after paying for costs related to Running Eers Services and Osper
Scale ai is being investigated By the us department of labor for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates unpaid wages, misclassification of Empolyees as contractors, and Ilelegal retaliation AGIANST WORTERS. The Investigation has been active since at least August 2024 and is still ongoing, According to a source family with the matterA spokesperson for scale ai told techcrunch that the investment was initiated during the previous presidential Administration and that the Startup Felt Its Misundrstood by Regulators again.
A federal judge denied elon musk’s motion For an injunction that would have halted openai’s Planned Transition into a for-Profit Company, Citing insufficient evidence. However, US District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers Said The Court is prepared to hold an expected trial based on the claim that Openai’s conversion planning is unlawful. It’s the latest turns in musk’s lawsuit, which accuses openai and ceo sam altman of abandoning its original nonprofit missions.
This is techcrunch’s week in review, where we recap the week’s biggest news. Want this delivered as a newsletter to your Inbox Every Saturday? Sign up here,
News
Welcome Back, Digg: One of the web’s early news aggregators is back under the ownership of its original founder kevin rose and reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Rose told techcrunch that the revived digg won’t be like “your old-shop forums.” Read more
Google, look at my screen: Google unveiled a new gemini feature called “screenshare” at mobile world congress 2025 that will let users share what’s on their phone on their phone’s screen with the ai chatbot and assk Quastions about whats aree in real time. Read more
An “ai phone” for less than $ 1k: Deutsche telekom announced that it is building an “ai phone,” a low-cost handset created in close collability with perplexity. DT plans to unveil the device in the second half of the year, and it will start seling it in 2026 for less than $ 1,000. Read more
It’sa me, artificial intelligence! UCSD research org hao ai lab threw ai models into a super mario bros. Emulator to Benchmark Performance. Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 performed the best, whereas Openai’s GPT-4O Struggled. Read more
Volkswagen’s cheapest ev ever: Volkswagen this week revised the ultra-cheap ev called the ing Every1. According to a source family with the new model, the small four-door hatchback will be the first to roll out with software and architecture from rivian. Read more
Going ghost mode: Getting Ghosted is Never Fun – Especially if you’re a founder seeking capital from investors. Techcrunch spoke to several vcs about why they ghost and how founders can make a more meaningful impression. Read more
Chatgpt can directly edit your code: The newest version of the macos chatgpt app can directly edit code in supported developer tools. Chatgpt plus, pro, and team subscribers can use the feature now, and the company plans to roll it out to more users next week. Read more
A cool use case for ai: Wildlife Researchers Use Camera Traps to Study Animal Populations, but it can take weeks to sift through all that data. Now Google has Open Sourced SpeciesNet, An AI MODEL that can identify animal species by analyzing photos from camera traps. Read more
A new way to watch youtube ad-free: YouTube lite is a new subscription tier that lets users watch most videos ad-free for $ 7.99 per month. However, it Won’t premium features like downloads, background play, or the ability to watch music videos ad-free. Read more
All hail the woolly mouse: Colossal biosciences, which is trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth by 2028, has made an adorable inroad by geneetically engineering messe These are the cutest things I’ve ever Seen. I cannot recommend watching the video enough. Read more
Analysis
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 android Across All Categories. While it’s Difential to Pinpoint One Specific Reason as to why, Bits of Freedom Senior Policy Adviser Rejo Zenger is not surprised. Recent developments in the us have seen the big platform providers align with the new trump administration, and europe’s reliance on technology from huge Private us Companis Companies have been a focal power Debate. Read more