The business of tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
ChatGPT now has Pro plans at $100, $200 and $500 a month, while Claude's flagship model costs far less per use. A speed setting can also drain a plan.
Read more: ChatGPT's top plan costs $500 a month, while Claude's runs far cheaperBraiin has upgraded its RADIUS customer service software so AI can handle routine calls and chats on its own, using models from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or a company's own.
Read more: Braiin upgrades its customer service software so AI can answer calls and chatsA software firm says its AI checked 68,000 utility invoices against contract terms and flagged over $1.1 million in possible overbilling before payment.
Read more: AI tool flags $1.1 million in possible overbilling by utility vendorsMeta plans to sell up to $95 billion in new stock to fund its AI buildout, which could shrink the slice of the company each current shareholder owns.
Read more: Meta plans to sell up to $95 billion in new stock to pay for AIA startup says its AI agents got into Anthropic's internal systems in under 12 hours, through everyday business software. Anthropic confirms limited access.
Read more: Startup says its AI agents broke into Anthropic's systemsA former UK police officer's AI startup, backed by Sequoia, is now valued at $400 million. It sells software to police forces, so privacy and public trust are in play.
Read more: Former UK police officer's AI startup is now valued at $400 millionAI-related work now makes up more than 10% of sales at India's big tech services firms, the Financial Times reports. Here is why that matters if you hire tech help.
Read more: India's big tech services firms see AI work pass 10% of salesWhatsApp now has a full app on Apple CarPlay, so drivers can read, send and call from the dashboard screen without relying on Siri voice commands.
Read more: WhatsApp now has its own app on Apple CarPlay car screensSimile says it builds AI stand-ins for people that companies can question about products and ads. Your shopping and movement data may help train them.
Read more: A startup is building digital copies of shoppers for companies to quizVirginia's governor ordered a statewide plan to defend against AI-powered cyberattacks, after an AI agent filed false public records requests on a state website.
Read more: Virginia orders a statewide plan to defend against AI-powered cyberattacksNevis, a New York startup that uses AI to clear paperwork off financial advisors' desks, raised $70 million as the country faces a shortage of advisors.
Read more: AI startup Nevis raises $70M to cut financial advisors' paperworkA Perth consultant's tests suggest AI could cut a one-hour bookkeeping review to about 5 minutes, but the tools still slipped on tax and foreign currency.
Read more: Tests show AI can cut a one-hour bookkeeping review to about 5 minutesLinkthread, a tool for building one bio link page, now has a $5 a month paid plan with deeper tracking, more design options and room for a team. Free stays free.
Read more: Linkthread adds a $5 a month paid plan with deeper link trackingA report from software maker Karbon says U.S. accounting firms that adopt new tech early earn 28% more revenue per employee than cautious ones.
Read more: Accounting firms quick to adopt new tech earn 28% more per employeeRalph Lauren can now adjust executive bonuses based on AI results, but few other retailers do this yet. Here is why, and what it means for business owners.
Read more: Ralph Lauren now links executive bonuses to how well it uses AIWorkday is adding a Candidate Profile that lets job seekers fill in their details once and reuse them, which could mean fewer abandoned applications for employers.
Read more: Workday Will Let Job Seekers Save One Profile for Many ApplicationsPoka has launched a tool that lets plant teams build their own AI agents without code, and a connector that feeds Poka data to assistants like ChatGPT and Copilot.
Read more: Poka lets factory teams build their own AI helpers without codingBedrock Robotics raised $600 million to put self-driving excavators on more job sites, as construction faces a shortage of skilled operators.
Read more: Self-driving digging machines now work real job sites and just raised $600MChargebacks911 says it will cover certain merchant losses when AI shopping agents make purchases, a sign that AI-made orders are becoming a real business risk.
Read more: A payments firm now backs merchants when AI shopping agents buySupabase says AI agents are writing more software, so it is rethinking how its database service works. That matters if you build or buy AI-made apps.
Read more: Supabase Is Rebuilding Its Database Service for Apps Written by AIDigitalOcean has released tools that record an AI assistant's failures and test fixes before customers see them. Some are open to try now, others are limited.
Read more: DigitalOcean adds tools to help AI assistants learn from their mistakesMastercard and MrBeast's Beast Industries plan new cards and money tools for fans and creators, but the companies have not said when or what they will cost.
Read more: Mastercard and MrBeast team up on new cards for creatorsDocuSign has put contract signing and tracking inside SAP's sales and HR software, which could save time for companies already using SAP.
Read more: DocuSign now lets SAP users sign and manage contracts in one placeASUS is selling a 32GB Intel graphics card for AI work in parts of Europe at €1,799, about $2,000, with no US price or date yet.
Read more: ASUS sells a $2,000 computer card built to run AI on your own desk
