💰 OpenAI is close to running out of money

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☀️ On this day: On January 16, 1986, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) held its first official meeting. The IETF went on to become one of the most influential organizations in computing history, responsible for developing and maintaining core internet standards such as TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, and DNS, helping shape the modern, open internet we use today.

What’s happening:

• 🌐 ChatGPT Translate arrives as a Google Translate rival

• 💰 Expert warns OpenAI is close to running out of funds

• 🚀 Ex–Google CEO backs a space telescope bigger than Hubble

• 💾 DDR5 RAM prices have jumped more than 4x since 2025

• 🎧 Spotify raises its subscription prices again

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Hand-picked news:

🌐 ChatGPT Translate arrives as a Google Translate rival ↗️LINK

• OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Translate, a standalone web-based translation tool supporting over 50 languages, with a two-text-box layout that closely resembles Google Translate.

• While Google Translate supports text, images, documents, and websites, ChatGPT Translate currently focuses on text only, with limited voice input on mobile browsers and no image translation available yet.

• The service repackages ChatGPT’s long-standing translation abilities into a dedicated site, but there’s no mobile app, no confirmed AI model details, and no formal launch announcement so far.

💰 Expert warns OpenAI is close to running out of funds ↗️LINK

• AI companies are pouring tens of billions into expensive models and infrastructure, but profitability remains distant, and OpenAI is especially exposed because it lacks a profitable core business to offset its losses.

• Analyst Sebastian Mallaby warns OpenAI could run out of money within 18 months, noting that rivals like Google, Microsoft, and Meta can rely on profits from existing businesses while OpenAI burned more than $8 billion in 2025 alone.

• Even if OpenAI falters or is absorbed by a larger tech firm, experts argue it wouldn’t undermine AI’s long-term prospects—only mark the fall of one of the most hype-driven players in the race.

🚀 Ex–Google CEO backs a space telescope bigger than Hubble ↗️LINK

• Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s foundation, Schmidt Sciences, is funding a major new astronomy system, including a privately built space telescope called Lazuli that will be larger than Hubble, plus three advanced ground-based observatories, all targeted to be operational by the end of the decade.

• Lazuli will use a 3.1-meter mirror with modern sensors, giving it about 70% more light-gathering power than Hubble, and will focus on exoplanets, supernovae, and measuring how fast the universe is expanding.

• The ground-based arrays will continuously scan the sky across radio and optical wavelengths, designed to work together with Lazuli in real time, creating an open, globally accessible observatory system at a moment when government funding for astronomy is becoming less reliable.

💾 DDR5 RAM prices jump more than 4x since 2025 ↗️LINK

• DDR5 RAM prices have surged dramatically, now averaging more than four times higher than in September 2025, with tracked products showing an average increase of about 344% based on a consistent comparison basket.

• The analysis shows that after a brief pause over the holidays, RAM prices resumed climbing sharply in mid-January, shifting from “more than tripled after three months” to “more than quadrupled after four months.”

• The report also warns that rising participation from small marketplace resellers, especially on eBay, is distorting price comparison data, increasing buyer risk and making it harder for consumers to judge true retail pricing trends.

🎧 Spotify raises its subscription prices again ↗️LINK

• Spotify is increasing its US individual plan price from $11.99 to $12.99 per month, marking its third price hike in three years, with the change taking effect in the next billing cycle.

• The company says the increase reflects the value it delivers to users and artists, and analysts previously estimated the hike could boost Spotify’s revenue by about $500 million.

• Spotify has already raised prices in several other countries, has over 281 million paid users worldwide, and is also rolling out new price increases in Estonia and Latvia.

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