el producto #432 🚀
Intro to MCPs, OpenAI's new models and upcoming social network, New WhatsApp features, UI design with ChatGPT, Founder (or PM)-led growth, Churn-based business models, & more
Hi team 👋
Happy weekend, and welcome to a fresh el producto
🎰 The week in figures
$3B: OpenAI is reportedly in talks to acquire Windsurf for approximately $3B to strengthen its AI coding capabilities and expand its market reach
1B: OpenAI now has between 800M-1B WAU after the launch of its image generator
$100M: SAIF, the Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund, has locked up $100M for its first fund. Founded by former YC President Geoff Ralston, it’s website says they’ll invest $100k checks through SAFE notes into startups “developing tools to enhance AI safety, security, and responsible deployment”
$100M: Hammerspace, a data management company used by giants like Meta, raised $100M at a $500M valuation. Positioned as a leader in unstructured data solutions
$90M: Marshmallow, a UK startup specializing in insurance for migrants, raised $90M at a $2B valuation. With an ARR of $500M, it plans to expand into financial services
1000: Amazon’s CEO says the company is working on over 1,000 genAI applications at the company, including new experiences in shopping, coding, video advertising, and home devices. The annual letter to shareholders has some interesting nuggets about how the company approaches product development
73% of monthly traffic across industries now comes from mobile, but only 33% of mobile users make everyday purchases on mobile devices
30%: AI model funding dropped 30% in China during Q1. The drop was accelerated by the adoption of DeepSeek, which has shifted the focus away from model development to product development on top of AI models, including Deepseek
📰 What’s going on
OpenAI is developing an X-like social network with an internal prototype that focuses on ChatGPT's image generation capabilities and includes a social feed. The project is in early stages, with CEO Sam Altman actively seeking external feedback. OpenAI's move comes after Altman's public exchange with Elon Musk in February, where he countered Musk's $97.4B buyout offer with a joke about purchasing Twitter for $9.74B
OpenAI launched AI reasoning models o3 and o4-mini for advanced problems, and three new GPT-4.1 coding models for enhanced coding at reduced costs. o3 and o4-mini highlights:
Available now to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, with Enterprise access next week
Both models outperform predecessors at lower costs
Both models were available to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, Team subscribers and through APIs
Safety evaluations show improved refusal capabilities while maintaining helpfulness
Much better vision capabilities than the o1 teaser (e.g: research w/ vision)
Exceptional writing that's casual, but not too casual—so perfect for work
First models with access to ALL OpenAI tools (web search, Python, image analysis, file search)—which represents a major step towards model “unification” (a.k.a. GPT-5). Meanwhile, we may need a model to help us choose a model:
OpenAI launched a new Flex processing option that cuts your AI model costs in half by handling lower-priority tasks with slower response times (reducing o3 costs from $10/M to $5/M input tokens, for example)
Anthropic has launched a new Claude Research feature that allows it to connect directly to Google Workspace and perform a series of “Agentic” searches. One of the examples shown as part of the announcement is a prompt asking Claude to prepare an out of office hand over plan for a 3 month sabbatical which searches through email threads, calendar events and Google Drive to create a personalised itinerary that includes check-ins with colleagues. Claude says Research can also be used by product and engineering teams for things like API documentation writing and system design
Grok has released its own interpretation of ChatGPT’s Canvas called Studio. If you ask Grok to write code or a document for you, it will now preview it in a side panel window - just as it does in ChatGPT or Claude
Zhipu AI, the Chinese AI startup is preparing for an IPO to become China's first public AI company. Supported by significant state-backed funding, it claims its GLM4 model surpasses OpenAI's GPT-4
Judge rules Google is a monopoly. For the second time in just a year, a federal judge has ruled that Google acted illegally in order to maintain monopolistic control over a market. This time, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that the company broke the law on its way to dominating online advertising technology, allowing them to set higher prices and demand an outsized share of ad revenue
WhatsApp is rolling out a series of new features, including document scanning, tappable reactions and a transcription feature that will come as great news to folks who don’t enjoy listening to long-winded voice notes (finally!)
Netflix is testing out a new AI-powered search engine for movies and TV. It’s powered by OpenAI, and allows users to search for content by inputting specific queries, including natural language descriptions of their mood or preferences, like “something uplifting” or “a funny movie about friends.” It’s designed to understand emotional tones and nuanced requests, making recommendations more tailored
Taobao, DHgate rise as Temu, Shein fall: Well-known low-cost shopping apps Temu and Shein recently told their customers that their prices are going up. The economics of their businesses have changed so much that Temu yanked its sizable advertising spend in the American market. But when a gap opens, other companies rush in. Now, two other Chinese shopping apps — DHgate and Taobao — are climbing domestic app charts. Precisely how they will survive a trade war better than their rivals who are busy pulling back isn’t clear — but what’s limpid as liquid crystal is that American consumers want cheap stuff
Revolut announced a rewards-based credit card using its RevPoints system, aiming to compete with established players like American Express by offering tailored rewards across its subscription tiers
Hosted checkout provider Bolt launched a new 'superapp' integrating crypto trading, peer-to-peer payments, and a rewards debit card, positioning it (you know, in theory) as an alternative to platforms like Coinbase, Zelle, and PayPal
Klarna collaborated with Clover, a PoS, to introduce in-store BNPL options across 100,000 U.S. merchant locations
📚 Good reads
UI design with ChatGPT 4o. ChatGPT 4o is a powerful tool for generating UI designs, significantly improving upon previous versions by incorporating real text in its outputs. Start with a well-structured markdown prompt to guide the AI in creating relevant designs, and then refine the results through multiple iterations. While it may not produce pixel-perfect designs, it serves as an effective way to brainstorm and explore various design concepts rapidly
Master founder-led growth with this playbook by former PayPal B2B growth lead and co-founder of SYSTM. Matt Lerner emphasizes that founders need to lead growth themselves rather than delegate it too early. It outlines common pitfalls founders encounter and provides practical strategies to uncover growth levers, run rapid experiments, and instill a growth mindset within their teams. A must-read for PMs seeking hands-on insights into scaling startup growth effectively
The many fallacies of 'AI won't take your job, but someone using AI will.' Sangeet Paul Choudary dives into the common misconceptions about AI usurping human jobs. Many roles require a blend of creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking—skills that AI still struggles to replicate. PMs should take these insights to better navigate the evolving tech landscape and harness AI as a tool rather than viewing it as a competitor
MCP vs. A2A: friends or foes? Aurimas Griciūnas explores the evolving relationship between Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent (A2A) protocols ( if this is a new topic to you, this intro on MCP for PMs will give you useful context). While some see them as competitors, Aurimas argues they are more complementary, with MCP focusing on standardizing AI model interactions and A2A facilitating inter-agent communication. The future may see A2A leading the charge as companies shift towards agent-based systems
The field guide to AI product improvement. Based on 30+ implementations, this study shows how the most successful AI teams obsess over measurement and iteration rather than special tools and frameworks
When churn becomes the business model. In the world of SaaS, not all churn is bad—some models thrive on it! CJ Gustafson argues that businesses like dating apps and funeral homes succeed by embracing a high-churn approach, focusing on delivering solutions for immediate needs rather than building customer loyalty. It's about capturing urgency, speeding up conversions, and making every interaction count
That’s a wrap for this week! 🌟
I’d love to hear your thoughts—what stood out to you, and how are you thinking about integrating these insights into your product strategy? Reply to this email or drop a comment on Substack to share your take. And if you found this valuable, forward it to a fellow PM, Product enthusiast, startup founder or entrepreneur who’d enjoy the read
See you next week! 👋
Angel