MrBeast's company, Beast Industries, acquired the teen-focused banking app Step on Monday, while OpenAI announced it would begin testing ads on its ChatGPT platform. These developments, along with the social network Bluesky adding drafts and an advocacy group accusing the FCC of withholding information, marked a busy day in the tech world.
Beast Industries, owned by YouTube megastar Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson, purchased Step, a financial app designed for Gen Z and Gen Alpha users. Step, which had raised half a billion in funding and amassed over 7 million users, offers financial services to help young people build credit, save money, and invest, according to TechCrunch. The app had previously attracted celebrity investors, including Charli D'Amelio, Will Smith, and Stephen Curry, as well as venture firms like General Catalyst and Stripe. The acquisition comes after Donaldson announced plans to launch a new YouTube channel focused on personal finance and investing, as reported by The Verge.
OpenAI revealed on Monday that it would start testing ads on its ChatGPT platform. Users of the free version of ChatGPT will soon see sponsored links at the bottom of their answers, unless they subscribe to the Plus plan, which costs at least $20 per month, according to The Verge. The ads will be clearly labeled as sponsored links.
In other tech news, the social network Bluesky rolled out drafts, a feature long requested by its users. The company plans to focus on improving its algorithmic Discover feed, offering better recommendations, and making the app feel more real-time, according to TechCrunch.
Meanwhile, an advocacy group accused the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of withholding information "in bad faith." The group is seeking discovery to collect documents it says the FCC has wrongfully kept private regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as reported by The Verge. The group's efforts come after one year and nearly 2,000 pages of documents.
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