This Week in AI: ChatGPT’s 400M Users, DeepSeek Suspended in SK, Musk’s Grok 3 & More
February is nearing its end, but the AI space is not showing any signs of slowing down. Recently, the ChatGPT surpassed the 400 million weekly active users mark, DeepSeek got suspended in South Korea, Elon Musk wrapped off the much-awaited Grok 3 model, and a lot more happened in just a matter of one week. On top of that, Microsoft revealed its research paper, which showed an AI model that can create game sequences.
So, if you are too overwhelmed with all the rapid changes happening in the AI space, then you have landed in the right place. In this story, I have compiled all the major AI updates from the past week. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump right in:
ChatGPT Reaches 400 Million Weekly Users; GPT-5 Coming Soon
It was the year 2022 when OpenAI released its ChatGPT for the first time. Now, just three years down the line, it has surpassed the 400 million active weekly users mark. This number is quite big, as the company was at 300 million users in December 2024. Now, in just two months, OpenAI has added 100 million new users despite stiff competition from the likes of Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and DeepSeek.
However, the company is not stopping here, as OpenAI is already preparing to unveil its GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 models. The latter one will merge OpenAI’s GPT and o-series models into a single version to offer a more powerful system.
OpenAI’s ‘Operator’ AI Agent Now Available in India, UK, and More
OpenAI also rolled out its AI agent ‘Operator’ to the global audience, which until now was limited to users in the United States. Now, it is available to ChatGPT’s $200-a-month Pro plan users in India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the UK.
South Korea Suspends DeepSeek App for Local Use
DeepSeek, the latest AI sensation, was removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in South Korea. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that it had removed the popular Chinese AI app from the local versions of the app stores.
The main reason behind removing the DeepSeek app from local app stores was privacy concerns. The authorities found that DeepSeek lacked transparency about the transfer of data to third parties and may have collected excessive personal information.
Elon Musk’s Grok 3 Competes with OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Gemini
Elon Musk led AI company called xAI launched its latest Grok 3 model. It succeeded the Grok 2, which was launched in August of last year and is claimed to be the “Smartest AI on Earth.” The Grok 3 packs 10 times more computing power compared to its predecessor. The model is already topping the benchmarking charts by leaving Google’s Gemini 2 Pro, DeepSeek V3, and OpenAI’s GPT-4o behind.
Microsoft’s AI Can Now Create Game Sequences
Microsoft also announced its new generative AI model, Muse, which is the first of its kind to generate both game visuals and controller actions. It’s part of the company’s World and Human Action Model (WHAM) and was developed in collaboration with Xbox Game Studios’ Ninja Theory.
The model is trained on datasets of human gameplay, particularly from the online multiplayer game Bleeding Edge. By analyzing gameplay sequences, Muse can generate new gameplay scenarios, simulating how a game might evolve based on different player inputs.
Moreover, the tech giant also unveiled its Majorana 1, which is a new quantum computing chip that uses a special type of particle called a Majorana to create more reliable and scalable qubits, which are the basic building blocks of quantum computers.
That’s a wrap with the AI updates for now. But if you are interested in staying up to date with all the latest happenings in the AI and business tech space, then make sure to follow Geekflare on Google News. We’ll keep you posted!