Amazon increases fees, ChatGPT comes to the enterprise, and Apple announces a press conference

Welcome to the latest edition of Week in Review (WiR), Techfullpost’ comprehensive newsletter summarizing the week’s most significant developments in the tech world. If you’ve been too swamped to keep up with the latest news, you’ve come to the right place. WiR is here to provide you with a concise recap of what you may have missed.

Teamshares: Disrupting Small Business Succession Plans

Teamshares, a New York-based startup with strong backing from venture capital, has emerged as a game-changer in the realm of small business acquisitions. Their approach involves quietly acquiring mom-and-pop shops, often at prices below market rates, but with a unique twist. Upon acquisition, Teamshares appoints a new president and allocates 10% of the company’s stock to its employees. The real game plan, according to co-founder and CEO Michael Brown, is to generate revenue through an expanding range of fintech products offered to the acquired businesses. This innovative approach capitalizes on the opportunity presented by small businesses lacking a clear succession plan.

Zepto: India’s Newest Unicorn in 2023

Zepto, an instant grocery delivery startup, has made waves by raising a remarkable $200 million in its latest funding round, elevating its valuation to a staggering $1.4 billion. This achievement stands out in an industry where many firms have faced significant challenges or failed to thrive. Zepto operates in seven Indian cities, processing a staggering 300,000 daily orders spanning everything from groceries to electronic gadgets. The company’s ambitious plans include an IPO slated for 2025.

OpenAI: ChatGPT Goes Enterprise

Building upon the viral success of ChatGPT, OpenAI is unveiling ChatGPT Enterprise, a business-focused iteration of their AI-powered chatbot application. ChatGPT Enterprise boasts “enterprise-grade” privacy and data analysis features in addition to enhanced performance and customization options, setting it apart from the standard ChatGPT. This move positions OpenAI to cater specifically to the needs of the business world, enhancing productivity and communication.

Google: BigQuery Studio for Data Analytics

Google has introduced BigQuery Studio, a groundbreaking addition to BigQuery, their fully managed serverless data warehouse. BigQuery Studio simplifies data analytics by providing a unified platform where programming languages like SQL, Python, and Spark can be used to run analytics and machine learning workloads at a massive scale, even reaching the petabyte range. Teams can seamlessly access data while enjoying enhanced controls for governance, regulation, and compliance, making it an ideal solution for enterprise-level data management.

Apple’s Upcoming Event: iPhone 15 Anticipation

Apple enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the company’s upcoming press conference scheduled for September 12. The event will once again take place at Apple Park in Cupertino. Anticipated as the centerpiece of the event is the unveiling of the iPhone 15. Additionally, expectations include the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 9 and a sneak peek at the Vision Pro, Apple’s AR headset, set to launch in 2024.

Google Flights: Insights for Smart Travel Booking

Google Flights is enhancing the travel booking experience by rolling out a new feature that aids users in determining the optimal time to book their flights. Leveraging historical trend data, this feature provides insights into when ticket prices have historically been lowest for selected destinations on specific dates. In some instances, Google will even offer refunds if fares decrease before departure, ensuring travelers make informed decisions.

Brazilian Phone Spyware Breach

A Portuguese-language spyware known as WebDetetive has been implicated in compromising over 76,000 Android phones, primarily in South America, with a significant focus on Brazil. WebDetetive is the latest phone spyware company to fall victim to hacking. Anonymous hackers exploited security vulnerabilities to compromise WebDetetive’s servers and access user databases. This breach raises concerns about the security of personal data and privacy in the digital age.

Amazon Adjusts Shipping Fees

Amazon is modifying its shipping fee policies, increasing the minimum for free shipping to $35 for customers without a Prime membership in select regions. Previously, the minimum for free shipping stood at $25. Amazon clarifies that this change is being tested on a regional basis and that all users within a specific region will encounter the same free shipping threshold.

Babylon Health: Financial Struggles and Restructuring

Babylon Health, a London-based telehealth startup previously valued at nearly $2 billion and backed by the founders of DeepMind, has faced a turbulent financial journey. The company’s U.S. shares became worthless, leading to insolvency. This week, the UK subsidiary formally entered administration while simultaneously selling a significant portion of its assets to eMed Healthcare UK, a new subsidiary of U.S. company eMed.

EU Empowers Users to Reject Algorithmic Manipulation

Internet users in the European Union are witnessing a significant shift in their experience on mainstream social networks. Thanks to the bloc’s Digital Services Act, users on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat can now easily decline “personalized” content feeds based on AI-driven algorithms. Instead, they can opt for a more straightforward news feed, displaying posts from friends in chronological order. This empowers users to take control of their online experience and opt out of algorithmic manipulation.

If you’re looking for engaging podcasts to fill your hours, TechCrunch offers several options that cover a range of topics, from the intricacies of successful leadership to the power of collective intelligence and digital asset management. These podcasts provide valuable insights and interviews with industry experts, making them perfect for the workday commute.

Tesla gives up on selling cars

Google’s AI enabled me to create subpar Nintendo knockoffs

Chevrolet’s Silverado ZR2 looks great, but smart money buys a different trim

OpenAI disputes culpability in the teen suicide action, citing’misuse’ of ChatGPT

Social Tech

Instagram Stories now offers users direct access to Meta AI editing tools

by George Mensah 2025-10-29

Meta is pushing deeper into AI territory with new AI-editing tools in Instagram Stories, where users can edit images and videos simply by typing in what they want to modify. From hair color to special effects, the feature upends the possibilities of creators and regular users alike to personalize their content.

Text Prompts Meet Visual Creativity

Until now, Instagram’s AI editing tools were primarily accessible through Meta AI’s chatbot, which required users to interact via direct messages. With this latest integration, however, AI editing becomes native to Stories, allowing anyone to make instant visual edits using plain language commands.

These new edit features come under the “Restyle” menu that can be accessed using the paintbrush icon in Instagram Stories. One can type commands such as “give me a sunset background,” “remove the person in the corner,” or “color my hair pink.” The AI carries out the edit one wants within seconds.

Meta suggests that users only have three primary actions to select from — Add, Remove, or Change — while specifying what they’d like to alter. The AI will automatically add objects, alter appearances, or completely restyle the photo based on what they’ve described.

Preset Effects and Dynamic Video Edits

In addition to custom prompts, Instagram also has pre-select AI effects that can beautify or stylize posts. Filters like sunglasses, a denim jacket, or even a watercolor art effect can be applied.

On video content, the feature does even better — creators are able to superimpose atmospheric effects like falling snow, glowing embers, or cinematic lighting, which makes Stories appear more polished and professional without the necessity of using editing apps.

Privacy and AI Usage Terms

While the new features enable creativity, they come with privacy implications. Being used to introduce users to Meta’s Terms of Service for AI, which allow the company to “analyze photos and videos, including facial data, to make AI better.” According to Meta, it allows its systems to “summarize image contents, edit images, and generate new content based on the image.”

Critics have also had concerns regarding the ways in which such data might be used to train Meta’s broader AI models, though the company has sworn to remain committed to responsible innovation and transparency.

Meta’s Expanding AI Push

The release of AI editing software is just part of Meta’s overall strategy to roll out artificial intelligence on every platform it has, from Facebook and Instagram to WhatsApp. Recently, Meta began beta-testing a “Write with Meta AI” feature, which helps users compose intelligent or engaging comments under Instagram posts.

Meanwhile, Meta’s separate Meta AI app — with its chatbot and new “Vibes” AI-generated video stream — has been picking up steam. According to Similarweb estimates, iOS and Android daily active users rose from 775,000 to 2.7 million over a four-week span as of October 17.

Protecting Younger Users

As a response to increasing complaints from regulators and parents, Meta has also added new parental tools for its AI features. Parents may now shut off chats with AI characters and filter topics that their teens have with the chatbot to provide a safer online environment.

With these new instruments, Instagram is not only emerging as a social network but a creative platform fueled by generative AI. With Meta, OpenAI, and Google competing for leadership, this launch shows how AI is becoming more a part of the social fabric of our era — blurring the line between creativity, technology, and self-expression.

Social Tech

A program is launched by Meta to promote the adoption of their Llama AI models by companies

by George Mensah 2025-05-22

Meta is rolling out red carpet treatment for AI startups with its new Llama for Startups initiative—offering cash, technical support, and exclusive access to its AI engineering team. But beneath the generous facade lies a fierce battle for dominance in the trillion-dollar generative AI market.

What Startups Get From Meta’s Program

💰 **Up to 36,000∗∗(36,000∗∗(6K/month for 6 months) in cloud credits
🤝 Direct engineering support from Meta’s Llama team
🔧 Early access to custom Llama model fine-tuning tools
🌐 Networking with other AI-first startups

Eligibility requirements are surprisingly accessible:

U.S.-based incorporation
Less than $10M in total funding
At least one developer on payroll
Building generative AI products

Deadline to apply: May 30, 2024

Why Meta Needs Startups More Than Ever

Despite 1 billion+ Llama downloads, Meta faces mounting pressure:

🔥 Competitive Threats

Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude dominate enterprise adoption
OpenAI’s GPT-4o leads in multimodal capabilities
Mistral, DeepSeek, and Alibaba’s Qwen are winning open-source favor

🚨 Recent Llama Stumbles

Llama 4 Behemoth delayed due to underperformance (WSJ)
Benchmark cheating allegations on LM Arena leaderboard
Public vs. “optimized” model discrepancies eroding trust

💸 Meta’s Make-or-Break AI Bet

Projecting 2B−2B−3B AI revenue in 2025
Banking on 460B−460B−1.4T by 2035 (yes, trillion)
Spending $900M+ annually just on GenAI R&D

The Hidden Strategy Behind the Startup Play

This isn’t just altruism—it’s a three-pronged chess move:

Lock-In Future Customers
Startups that build on Llama today become enterprise buyers tomorrow.
Crowdsource Innovation
Early adopters essentially beta-test new Llama capabilities for free.
Combat Open-Source Defections
With alternatives like Mistral gaining traction, Meta needs to make Llama indispensable.

What’s Really at Stake?

Meta’s playing a long infrastructure game:

60B−60B−80B earmarked for 2025 data centers
Revenue-sharing deals with cloud providers hosting Llama
Future Llama API monetization (Zuck hinted at ads/subscriptions)

For startups, the calculus is simple:
✅ Free money and support in a cash-strapped AI winter
❌ Risk of vendor lock-in as Llama evolves

Should Your Startup Apply?

The case for jumping in:

If you’re already using Llama, this is free acceleration
Early access could provide competitive edge
Meta’s engineering insights are gold dust for product refinement

Reasons to hesitate:

$36K doesn’t go far with today’s GPU costs
Potential IP concerns working closely with a tech giant
Llama’s long-term roadmap remains uncertain

The Bottom Line

Meta’s throwing a Hail Mary to cement Llama as the open-weight model of choice. For scrappy AI startups, it’s a rare chance to piggyback on Meta’s war chest—just don’t mistake it for a long-term partnership.

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