Saturday, March 8, 2025

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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-internet darling Digg, a company genetically engineering mice to have mammoth-like fur, and more! Let's do this.

OpenAI could charge up to $20,000 per month for specialized AI "agents." According to a report from The Information, OpenAI intends to launch several "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 right now: The company lost roughly $5 billion last year after paying for costs related to running its services and other expenses.

Scale AI is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor for compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates unpaid wages, misclassification of employees as contractors, and illegal retaliation against workers. The investigation has been active since at least August 2024 and is still ongoing, according to a source familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Scale AI told TechCrunch that the investigation was initiated during the previous presidential administration and that the startup felt its work was misunderstood by regulators then.

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, U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the court is prepared to hold an expedited trial based on the claim that OpenAI's conversion plan is unlawful. It's the latest turn in Musk's lawsuit, which accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of abandoning its original nonprofit mission.

News

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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-school 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's screen with the AI chatbot and ask questions about what it sees 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 collaboration with Perplexity. DT plans to unveil the device in the second half of the year, and it will start selling 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 revealed the ultra-cheap EV called the ID EVERY1. According to a source familiar 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 have 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 genetically engineering mice to have mammoth-like fur. These are the cutest things I've ever seen. I cannot recommend watching the video enough. Read more

Analysis

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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