Welcome back to Week in Review. This week we’re looking at OpenAI canceling the release of o3; TikTok returning to U.S. app stores nearly a month after it was removed; more complications in Elon Musk’s bid to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion; and more! Let’s do it.
OpenAI effectively canceled the release of o3, which was slated to be the company’s next major AI model, in favor of a “simplified” product offering. In a post on X, CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI plans to release GPT-5, a model that will integrate o3 in ChatGPT and its API. As a result, OpenAI will no longer launch o3 as a stand-alone model. The company plans to release GPT-4.5 before GPT-5 rolls out, according to Altman, who says this will be the company’s last “non-chain-of-thought model.”
Apple and Google restored TikTok to their respective app stores in the U.S., nearly a month after they removed the app due to a national security law that banned it. The companies have also restored video editor CapCut and social media app Lemon8, which were removed to comply with the law. The apps were restored after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent Apple a letter saying that the ban wouldn’t immediately be enforced, Bloomberg reports.
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased “the newest member of the family,” set to arrive Wednesday, which is likely a fourth-generation iPhone SE. It’s been three years since Apple released the last iPhone SE at $429 — an oversight for a product that plays such a big role for the company in markets like China and India. This time around, Apple is likely to ditch the Touch ID home button and use the same chip that powers the iPhone 16.
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News
Musk adds conditions to his bid for OpenAI: Lawyers for Elon Musk said the billionaire will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI if the board commits to keeping it as a nonprofit. The filing claims that Musk’s offer to buy OpenAI is “serious.” Read more
If you can’t take the heat: Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth has choice words for employees frustrated with the company’s latest policies — they are free to quit. A Business Insider report cites an internal chat where an employee criticized Meta for cutting DEI programs. Read more
Tesla wins a defamation suit: Zhang Yazhou sued Tesla after a Tesla Model 3 allegedly crashed due to faulty brakes in 2021. After Tesla sued her back for defamation, a Chinese court has ordered Zhang to pay some $23,000 in damages and make a public apology. Read more
An open Instagram: An app called Pinksky launched an Android version of its photo-centric social networking experience built on top of Bluesky. It’s one of many attempting to court former Instagram users by offering a similar experience but built on open technology. Read more
Watch out, FIFA: Researchers at Google DeepMind published a demonstration of miniature humanoid robots playing a one-on-one game of soccer. The researchers found they were able to learn movement skills like walking, kicking, and being able to recover from a fall. Read more
Google expands NotebookLM Plus: Google has expanded NotebookLM Plus, a paid version of its AI-based note-taking and research assistant with higher usage limits and premium features, to users subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan. Read more
Zeta’s big valuation: The provider of banking software to banks and fintech startups raised $50 million from a strategic investor at a $2 billion valuation. The new investment marks a 70% increase in the Bengaluru-based startup’s valuation in 2021. Read more
Google Maps updates to the Gulf of America: U.S. Google Maps users will see the Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico following an executive order from President Trump. International users will see both names, while users in Mexico will only see the Gulf of Mexico. Read more
Perplexity’s Super Bowl growth hack: Instead of getting an expensive Super Bowl ad, the AI search engine used X to get users to download its app for a chance to win $1 million. The strategy increased its mobile app installs by roughly 50%, according to data from Appfigures. Read more
Tumblr joins the fediverse: Tumblr is headed to the open social web thanks to a planned move to the WordPress infrastructure. When the migration is complete, Tumblr users will be able to federate their blog via ActivityPub, just as every WordPress.com user can. Read more
