Airbnb, Figure Technology, Tenga, and OpenAI have all recently been impacted by significant developments, including data breaches, talent departures, and model deprecations, according to reports from TechCrunch. These events highlight ongoing challenges and shifts within the tech industry.
Airbnb announced that its custom-built AI agent is now handling roughly a third of its customer support issues in North America, and is preparing to roll out the feature globally. CEO Brian Chesky stated during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that the company believes that in a year's time, more than 30% of its total customer support tickets will be handled by AI voice and chat in all the languages where it also employs a human customer service agent. Chesky believes the AI will improve the quality of service and reduce costs.
Figure Technology, a blockchain-based lending company, confirmed a data breach originating from a social engineering attack on an employee, according to a statement from spokesperson Alethea Jadick. The breach allowed hackers to steal a limited number of files. The company is communicating with partners and those impacted, and offering free credit monitoring. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and published 2.5 gigabytes of allegedly stolen data after the company refused to pay a ransom.
Sex toy maker Tenga notified customers of a data breach on Friday, according to an email obtained by TechCrunch. An unauthorized party gained access to an employee's professional email account, potentially allowing the hacker to see and steal customer names, email addresses, and historical email correspondence, including order details or customer service inquiries. The hacker also sent spam emails to the hacked employee's contacts. Tenga did not respond to a request for comment.
OpenAI will cease providing access to five legacy ChatGPT models, including the controversial GPT-4o model, starting Friday. The 4o model has been at the center of lawsuits concerning user self-harm, delusional behavior, and AI psychosis. OpenAI noted that only 0.1% of customers have been using GPT-4o. The GPT-5, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini models have also been deprecated.
In other AI news, several top talents are leaving OpenAI and xAI. Half of xAI's founding team has departed, some through restructuring. OpenAI is also facing internal shakeups, including the disbanding of its mission alignment team.
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