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Space Force bets on commercial entrants in B satcom contest | TechCrunch

Space Force bets on commercial entrants in $4B satcom contest | TechCrunch

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American warfighters need jam-proof communications, and the Space Force is planning to spend hundreds of millions to ensure they have them.

As part of that effort, the service established the Protected Tactical Satcom program to build out secure battlefield communications via satellites. The Space Force has already awarded contracts to defense primes Boeing and Northrop Grumman to develop prototype payloads for satellites heading to far-away geostationary orbit.

Now, the program is entering a new phase. On Tuesday, the Space Force awarded five additional contracts for the design and demonstration of purpose-built satellites to provide jam-resistant comms to tactical forces. The winners include previous winners Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Viasat, and Intelsat, plus a relative newcomer: Astranis, a venture-backed startup based in San Francisco. (Intelsat will buy its satellite bus from K2 Space, another venture-backed startup.)

The initial awards are relatively small, totaling $37.3 million combined. But the program has a $4 billion award ceiling, so the winners could sign on to a much more lucrative defense deal.

Each firm will develop its architectures through January 2026. After that, the Space Force will select one design and award an additional contract for the first satellite, with a launch planned in 2028. Additional production awards will be doled out, also in 2028.

The PTS-G contracts are a notable departure from how the military has historically procured geostationary satellites, which have typically had extremely long timelines from contract award to launch, and would cost hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars per spacecraft.

In contrast, the Space Force is clearly trying to leverage the speed of commercial entrants and encourage competition by selecting multiple vendors for the initial phase of the program.

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“Our PTS-G contract transforms how SSC acquires SATCOM capability for the warfighter,” program executive officer Cordell DeLaPena Jr. said in a news release. “The incorporation of commercial baseline designs to meet military capability significantly enhances the Space Force’s speed and efficiency to add capability to meet emerging threats.”

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White House officials are exploring official government oversight of new AI models, according to the New York Times.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the publication that the Trump administration is forming an AI working group composed of tech leaders and government representatives. The group will be tasked with outlining potential oversight procedures for new models launching to market, including formal review processes, the Times reported.

SEE ALSO: Student sues matchmaking app for allegedly stealing her likeness for an ad

The proposed plans were discussed at a White House meeting last week with representatives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

Potentially influenced by regulatory processes announced by UK regulators, which relegate AI oversight to relevant government bodies, the working group would also determine which U.S. agencies would be tasked with oversight. Some officials have suggested the National Security Agency (NSA), the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, and the director of national intelligence take the lead, while others have even suggested revitalizing the Biden-era Center for A.I. Standards and Innovation, according to the Times.

The administration has reversed its stance on AI regulation in recent months, despite announcing a federal AI action plan that pulled back on regulation of tech companies and threatened to reduce federal funding for states that impeded AI infrastructure efforts through regulation. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill also included limits on state governments’ AI regulation, originally proposing a 10-year moratorium on state action in favor of federal oversight.

Trump appointee and FCC chairman Brendan Carr has also advocated for a light-touch approach to AI regulation.

#Trump #federal #model #oversight">Trump considering federal AI model oversight White House officials are exploring official government oversight of new AI models, according to the New York Times. U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the publication that the Trump administration is forming an AI working group composed of tech leaders and government representatives. The group will be tasked with outlining potential oversight procedures for new models launching to market, including formal review processes, the Times reported. SEE ALSO: Student sues matchmaking app for allegedly stealing her likeness for an ad The proposed plans were discussed at a White House meeting last week with representatives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. Mashable Light Speed Potentially influenced by regulatory processes announced by UK regulators, which relegate AI oversight to relevant government bodies, the working group would also determine which U.S. agencies would be tasked with oversight. Some officials have suggested the National Security Agency (NSA), the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, and the director of national intelligence take the lead, while others have even suggested revitalizing the Biden-era Center for A.I. Standards and Innovation, according to the Times. The administration has reversed its stance on AI regulation in recent months, despite announcing a federal AI action plan that pulled back on regulation of tech companies and threatened to reduce federal funding for states that impeded AI infrastructure efforts through regulation. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill also included limits on state governments’ AI regulation, originally proposing a 10-year moratorium on state action in favor of federal oversight. Trump appointee and FCC chairman Brendan Carr has also advocated for a light-touch approach to AI regulation. #Trump #federal #model #oversight

government oversight of new AI models, according to the New York Times.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the publication that the Trump administration is forming an AI working group composed of tech leaders and government representatives. The group will be tasked with outlining potential oversight procedures for new models launching to market, including formal review processes, the Times reported.

SEE ALSO: Student sues matchmaking app for allegedly stealing her likeness for an ad

The proposed plans were discussed at a White House meeting last week with representatives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

Potentially influenced by regulatory processes announced by UK regulators, which relegate AI oversight to relevant government bodies, the working group would also determine which U.S. agencies would be tasked with oversight. Some officials have suggested the National Security Agency (NSA), the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, and the director of national intelligence take the lead, while others have even suggested revitalizing the Biden-era Center for A.I. Standards and Innovation, according to the Times.

The administration has reversed its stance on AI regulation in recent months, despite announcing a federal AI action plan that pulled back on regulation of tech companies and threatened to reduce federal funding for states that impeded AI infrastructure efforts through regulation. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill also included limits on state governments’ AI regulation, originally proposing a 10-year moratorium on state action in favor of federal oversight.

Trump appointee and FCC chairman Brendan Carr has also advocated for a light-touch approach to AI regulation.

#Trump #federal #model #oversight">Trump considering federal AI model oversight

White House officials are exploring official government oversight of new AI models, according to the New York Times.

U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the publication that the Trump administration is forming an AI working group composed of tech leaders and government representatives. The group will be tasked with outlining potential oversight procedures for new models launching to market, including formal review processes, the Times reported.

SEE ALSO: Student sues matchmaking app for allegedly stealing her likeness for an ad

The proposed plans were discussed at a White House meeting last week with representatives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

Potentially influenced by regulatory processes announced by UK regulators, which relegate AI oversight to relevant government bodies, the working group would also determine which U.S. agencies would be tasked with oversight. Some officials have suggested the National Security Agency (NSA), the White House Office of the National Cyber Director, and the director of national intelligence take the lead, while others have even suggested revitalizing the Biden-era Center for A.I. Standards and Innovation, according to the Times.

The administration has reversed its stance on AI regulation in recent months, despite announcing a federal AI action plan that pulled back on regulation of tech companies and threatened to reduce federal funding for states that impeded AI infrastructure efforts through regulation. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill also included limits on state governments’ AI regulation, originally proposing a 10-year moratorium on state action in favor of federal oversight.

Trump appointee and FCC chairman Brendan Carr has also advocated for a light-touch approach to AI regulation.

#Trump #federal #model #oversight

On May 4, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed an amended complaint to add the Elon Musk Revocable Trust dated July 22, 2003 (the “Revocable Trust”) as a defendant to this action. The amended complaint alleges that the defendants failed to timely file a beneficial ownership report with the Commission after the Revocable Trust acquired beneficial ownership of more than five percent of the outstanding shares of Twitter, Inc. common stock, in violation of the beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).

The SEC simultaneously moved for entry of a consent final judgment as to the Revocable Trust. Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint as to the Revocable Trust, the Revocable Trust consented to entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin it from violating Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-1 thereunder and order it to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million.

As explained in the consent motion, if the court enters the proposed final judgment as to the Revocable Trust as proposed by the Revocable Trust and the SEC, the SEC will file a stipulated dismissal of Elon Musk in his personal capacity, which will resolve this case in its entirety.

#Elon #Musk #settle #feds #Twitter #lawsuit #pocket #changeElon Musk,Law,News,Policy,Tech,Twitter – X">Elon Musk will settle the feds’ Twitter lawsuit with pocket changeOn May 4, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed an amended complaint to add the Elon Musk Revocable Trust dated July 22, 2003 (the “Revocable Trust”) as a defendant to this action. The amended complaint alleges that the defendants failed to timely file a beneficial ownership report with the Commission after the Revocable Trust acquired beneficial ownership of more than five percent of the outstanding shares of Twitter, Inc. common stock, in violation of the beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).The SEC simultaneously moved for entry of a consent final judgment as to the Revocable Trust. Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint as to the Revocable Trust, the Revocable Trust consented to entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin it from violating Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-1 thereunder and order it to pay a civil penalty of .5 million.As explained in the consent motion, if the court enters the proposed final judgment as to the Revocable Trust as proposed by the Revocable Trust and the SEC, the SEC will file a stipulated dismissal of Elon Musk in his personal capacity, which will resolve this case in its entirety.#Elon #Musk #settle #feds #Twitter #lawsuit #pocket #changeElon Musk,Law,News,Policy,Tech,Twitter – X


Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures.

This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface.

For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found.

For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed.

Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades | TechCrunch Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures. This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface. For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found. For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed. Image Credits:Appfigures Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out. Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.) Image Credits:Appfigures Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only 1,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release. Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue. Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars. OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said. Image Credits:Appfigures The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern. While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai
Image Credits:Appfigures

Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out.

Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.)

Image Credits:Appfigures

Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue.

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026

Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only $181,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release.

Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue.

Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars.

OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated $70 million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said.

Image Credits:Appfigures

The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern.

While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai">Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades | TechCrunch Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures. This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface. For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found. For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed. Image Credits:Appfigures Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out. Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.) Image Credits:Appfigures Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only 1,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release. Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue. Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars. OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said. Image Credits:Appfigures The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern. While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai

new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface.

For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found.

For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed.

Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades | TechCrunch Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures. This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface. For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found. For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed. Image Credits:Appfigures Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out. Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.) Image Credits:Appfigures Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only 1,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release. Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue. Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars. OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said. Image Credits:Appfigures The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern. While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai
Image Credits:Appfigures

Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out.

Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.)

Image Credits:Appfigures

Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue.

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026

Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only $181,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release.

Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue.

Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars.

OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated $70 million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said.

Image Credits:Appfigures

The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern.

While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai">Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades | TechCrunch


Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures.

This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface.

For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found.

For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed.

Image AI models now drive app growth, beating chatbot upgrades | TechCrunch Image model releases are driving growth for AI mobile apps, generating 6.5x more downloads than traditional model updates, according to a new report from app intelligence provider Appfigures. This marks a shift from earlier days, when the release of new models powering the conversational experiences drove more demand, alongside the new features like a voice chat interface. For instance, ChatGPT and Gemini each added tens of millions of new downloads after releasing their respective image models, Appfigures found. For Google’s Gemini, the release of its image model Nano Banana drove an additional 22+ million downloads in the 28 days following the introduction of the Gemini 2.5 Flash image model last August. This launch lifted the app’s downloads by more than 4x over that period, the data showed. Image Credits:Appfigures Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out. Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.) Image Credits:Appfigures Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue. Techcrunch event San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only 1,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release. Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue. Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars. OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said. Image Credits:Appfigures The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern. While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai
Image Credits:Appfigures

Meanwhile, ChatGPT added more than 12 million incremental installs in the 28 days after the introduction of its GPT-4o image model in March of last year. That’s roughly 4.5x more downloads than it saw for its GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5 model releases, Appfigures pointed out.

Other model releases followed similar trends, though on a smaller scale. Meta AI’s introduction of its AI video feed Vibes added an estimated 2.6 million incremental downloads in the 28 days after its September 2025 release. (Yes, technically, this is a video model, but it’s ultimately about visual content, not just text.)

Image Credits:Appfigures

Still, the report cautioned, additional downloads don’t always translate into increased mobile revenue.

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026

Instead, new image model releases give people a reason to install the app and try out its improved image-generation capabilities. That doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily convert to paying subscribers. For example, Appfigures noted that Nano Banana drove only $181,000 in estimated gross consumer spending during the 28-day window following its release, even though it produced a larger spike in downloads than ChatGPT’s 4o image model release.

Meta AI’s launch of Vibes also led to additional downloads, but no meaningful revenue.

Among the three, only ChatGPT turned the increased attention into actual dollars.

OpenAI’s 4o image-generation model led to an estimated $70 million in gross consumer spending over the 28 days after its launch, compared with its prior baseline, Appfigures said.

Image Credits:Appfigures

The company also looked at DeepSeek in its analysis, but it didn’t fit the pattern.

While DeepSeek R1 drove 28 million downloads after its January 2025 release, it wasn’t a typical model comparison event. This was DeepSeek’s breakout moment, when it went from being relatively unknown to an overnight sensation as the tech industry learned about the techniques it used to train its AI models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. This case highlights how curiosity can drive downloads — though in this instance, the interest wasn’t tied to an image model.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Image #models #drive #app #growth #beating #chatbot #upgrades #TechCrunchai apps,ChatGPT,gemini,image models,meta ai

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