Lilium, an electric aircraft startup, has ceased operations and laid off about 1,000 workers due to failed financing and insolvency efforts.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

X is increasing the price of its Premium+ subscription service by 37.5% to $22 per month in the U.S. starting December 21st. Existing subscribers will keep their current rates until January 20th. International markets will also see price increases.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

OpenAI released a new family of AI reasoning models, o3, which is more advanced than its previous model o1. The company used a new safety paradigm called 'deliberative alignment' to train the models and ensure they stay aligned with human values.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

Palantir and Anduril are forming a consortium with tech companies to bid on Pentagon contracts, aiming to challenge traditional defense contractors.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

Sriram Krishnan has been named as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Donald Trump. He will work with the president's council of advisors on science and technology and collaborate with David Sacks, Trump's crypto and AI 'czar'.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

Apple is reportedly developing a smart doorbell that uses FaceID technology to unlock a deadbolt lock for residents, with a potential release in 2025 or later.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

OpenAI announced the successors to its o1 reasoning model family, o3 and o3-mini, which are not yet widely available but can be previewed by safety researchers.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

In 2024, AI companies have raised $19 billion, accounting for 28% of all venture funding. Notably, xAI secured a $6 billion round and Liquid AI received $250 million. Other AI startups raised over $100 million each, with a total of 49 US-based companies reaching this milestone so far this year.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

OpenAI's GPT-5 development is facing delays and cost concerns. Initial training runs have been slower than anticipated, raising doubts about the model's significant advancement compared to previous versions.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, refutes Marc Andreessen's claim of a proposed plan to allow only a few AI companies to dominate the industry through collaboration with the Biden administration, stating that no such discussion occurred during their meeting.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/category/fintech/