Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 🧠 OpenAI’s PhD-level AI agents for $20k/month

• 🍎 Apple delays Siri AI improvements to 2026

• 🕵️‍♀️ Meta is all-in on AI agents too

• 🤖 25% of YC founders code with AI

Let’s get right into it!

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STARTUPS

OpenAI’s PhD-level AI agents for $20k/month

OpenAI is expanding beyond ChatGPT, which generates $4 billion annually, by focusing on AI "agents" that can autonomously complete tasks. The company plans to sell agents at different price points: $2,000 per month for knowledge workers, $10,000 for software development, and $20,000 for PhD-level research. OpenAI expects agents to contribute 20-25% of its revenue and has already demonstrated their capabilities in sorting sales leads, coding assistance, and nuclear fusion research. Pricing AI remains a challenge, with some companies bundling features while others charge per task.

CEO Sam Altman suggests that AI agents will cost significantly more than the $200 per month ChatGPT Pro tier. In related AI industry news, Amazon formed a new AI agents division, and major investments continue in AI-driven startups across sectors, from self-driving technology to medical AI.

BIG TECH

Apple delays Siri AI improvements to 2026

Apple has delayed the release of key Siri upgrades that were expected this spring, pushing them to next year. These enhancements, part of Apple Intelligence, would have allowed Siri to take actions within apps and use personal context, such as filling out forms with user details. The delay underscores the challenges of developing a next-gen AI-powered assistant, especially as competitors like OpenAI, Amazon, and Google advance their own AI-driven voice assistants.

Despite this, Apple has already rolled out some Siri improvements, including more conversational capabilities and ChatGPT integration, on newer devices. Apple is also relying on developers to create "app intents" to enable Siri’s future functionality, though they won’t see full integration until a beta release. This setback follows earlier issues with AI-generated news summaries, reflecting Apple's ongoing difficulties in adapting to generative AI.

BIG TECH

Meta is all-in on AI agents too

Meta is rapidly advancing in generative AI with an open-source approach, making its Llama large language models widely accessible, with over 800 million downloads. The upcoming Llama 4 will power AI agents capable of reasoning and task automation beyond simple prompts. Meta’s AI, already used by 700 million consumers, is being adapted for businesses, particularly small ones that lack AI teams.

Clara Shih, head of business AI at Meta, envisions a future where every business has an AI agent managing customer interactions, much like having a website or email today. AI assistants will also transform consumer experiences, handling tasks like product research and trip planning. As AI reshapes industries, Shih emphasizes the need for individuals and businesses to embrace and learn AI, comparing its impact to the rise of the internet and mobile technology.

STARTUPS

25% of YC founders code with AI

AI-generated code is becoming mainstream, with a quarter of Y Combinator’s W25 startup batch relying on AI for 95% of their codebases, according to YC managing partner Jared Friedman. This shift, dubbed “vibe coding,” allows developers to use natural language and intuition rather than manually writing code. While AI-generated code accelerates development, it still requires human oversight to debug and ensure quality.

Experts, including YC’s leadership and AI researcher Andrej Karpathy, stress the importance of traditional coding knowledge to sustain AI-assisted projects long-term. As AI coding tools gain traction, startups like Bolt, Codeium, and Magic have raised significant funding, reinforcing the belief that AI-driven development is not a passing trend but the future of coding.