Atlas Shrugs 🧑🏾‍💻💸

👀 TLDR

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser and the company's confirmation that it’s pivoting to a “for-profit” entity. The new browser is yet another challenge to Google and traditional internet gatekeeping, but will it take off? And can OpenAI actually make money from it? We also have news on Elon Musk’s alternative to Wikipedia, digital IDs coming to iPhones, a wave of new tools for Adobe apps, and more!

🎬 Our Top Take

🧑🏾‍💻💸 OpenAI – ChatGPT Atlas Browser Arrives as For-Profit Move Made

Just a few hours ago, OpenAI announced that it had made the transition that we all assumed it would. It’s now a “for-profit” company rather than a non-profit foundation. That “for-profit” tag takes on new importance, namely because OpenAI isn’t making any. Despite its $500 billion valuation, it’s a loss-making company, posting a $13.5 billion loss in the first half of 2025. The problem is not users – about 10% of the planet uses ChatGPT – but paying users, as only an estimated 5% of ChatGPT users have paid subscriptions. As a backdrop to all this comes ChatGPT Atlas, its new AI browser. As with its shopping checkout tool, Sora social media, and its Apps SDK, Atlas puts OpenAI in contention with the behemoths like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Apple, who know how to onboard users AND make money at the same time. So, what about Atlas? Well, it’s like Chrome or Safari, except ChatGPT lives on the sidebar of your screen. More to the point, though, it feels quite prototype-like presently, and there are strict limits set on non-paying users. Yet, like all of OpenAI’s ventures outside of the main chatbot, this is about seeing potential. It’s a promise that we might one day re-imagine the pillars of the internet, by-passing Google’s “search, see ads, and click blueprint.” The main question, though, is how this newly minted for-profit company, backed by hundreds of billions in investments, will convince everyone to pay for it. Follow Google’s ‘adverts and your data’ model? Or persuade us all that browsing with ChatGPT is a premium experience worth paying for? #ChromeKiller Read more here.

📲 App of the Week: Subscription Manager: Orbit

If you feel the number of subscriptions you have is running away from you, you certainly are not alone: 1 in 5 Americans are paying for subscriptions they don’t use, and a significant percentage of us are falling afoul of “subscription creep,” paying for services we can’t afford. Subscription Manager: Orbit is a tool to find and put all your subscriptions in one place, allowing you to analyze and budget. Using the app will really drive home some of the costs, especially when you view the outgoings over a year. Note that the app will not collect or resell your personal data, so it’s safe to share bank statements, etc. Check out Subscription Manager: Orbit for iPhone here. Not available on Android.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 14K Jobs

📈📉 Amazon – Global Layoffs Suggest AI Impact on White Collar Jobs

Amazon’s stock is at an all-time high after healthy revenues were reported for the quarter, but the company is making huge cuts across its workforce. The interesting thing about the 14,000 layoffs (reported to be as many as 30,000 in some places) is that they're white-collar jobs, leading many to opine that it’s the influence of AI. In slightly related news, Meta has cut 600 jobs at its Superintelligence division. It was just a few months ago that it was on a hiring spree. #JobCuts Read more here.

🗞️ Other Stories

📍 Meanwhile at 3Advance

We’ve been continuing our work with Jeffery Bradley on SelfSpeak – the affirmation app that helps you reprogram your mind, in your own voice. This week, Paul picked up the latest build, and in the video below, he talks about what it’s actually like to hear your own affirmations spoken back to you using AI voice cloning – and why this experience hit different. Jeffery’s been practicing this method for over 20 years, and now, through SelfSpeak, he’s making it accessible to everyone. Watch the full video below, and try SelfSpeak on the App Store and Google Play.