ChatGPT Mobile is Eating Wallets

Plus, Apple’s App Store Monopoly Cracks

December 18, 2025

In partnership with

Welcome back, AI Admirers!

Breaking News: ChatGPT’s mobile app has crossed a massive milestone: $3 billion in consumer spending worldwide since its launch in May 2023.

Get ready to dive into the latest happenings in AI.

📢 Today's Headline:

ChatGPT Mobile Is Eating Wallets!
Japan Forces Apple to Open the Gates!
Trump Media’s $6B Fusion Gamble!
The Surprising Truth about AI’s Impact on Jobs!
Latest AI Tools & Resources!
Today’s Poll and Results!

Read time: 3.5 minutes!

Together with The Hustle Daily

The Hustle: Claude Hacks For Marketers

Some people use Claude to write emails. Others use it to basically run their entire business while they play Wordle.

This isn't just ChatGPT's cooler cousin. It's the AI that's quietly revolutionizing how smart people work – writing entire business plans, planning marketing campaigns, and basically becoming the intern you never have to pay.

The Hustle's new guide shows you exactly how the AI-literate are leaving everyone else behind. Subscribe for instant access.

Get our Claude playbook

Partner with us

Hand-picked News

AI Subscriptions Are the New Netflix

The ChatGPT mobile app just smashed through $3B in consumer spending, proving AI isn’t just hype; It’s becoming a subscription lifestyle.

2025 alone drove $2.48B in spending, a 408% jump from last year.
Adoption is outpacing other viral apps, showing AI is now mainstream consumer tech.
Early launch in 2023 brought modest $42.9M, but growth since then has been exponential.

Appfigures data shows ChatGPT’s mobile app (iOS + Android) has become one of the fastest-growing consumer apps in history, with spending accelerating far faster than typical social or entertainment platforms.

✅ Why it matters: This isn’t just about AI curiosity; it’s proof people are willing to pay for AI tools the way they pay for Netflix or Spotify. That shift signals a new era where AI subscriptions could dominate consumer budgets.

👀 Quick insight: If you’re building in AI, think beyond free tools. Users are showing they’ll pay for premium, daily-use experiences.

Apple’s Walled Garden Cracks in Japan

Apple is being forced to open iOS to alternative app stores and outside payments, shaking up one of its most tightly controlled markets.

Japan’s new Mobile Software Competition Act compels Apple to allow rival marketplaces and non-App Store billing.
Epic’s Tim Sweeney blasted Apple’s “21% fee” on third-party purchases, calling it obstruction, not openness.
Apple warns of “malware and scams,” but quietly builds a Notarization system to vet new app stores.

This follows Europe’s Digital Markets Act and U.S. court battles. Japan is now the latest major market to push back on Apple’s dominance. Developers must accept new terms by March 17, 2026.

✅ Why it matters: Apple’s grip on iOS is loosening worldwide. For devs, this could mean more freedom but also new costs. For users, it’s a test of whether competition really lowers prices or just reshuffles fees.

👀 Quick insight: If you’re building apps, watch how Apple’s “Notarization” rules evolve—compliance could become the new gatekeeper.

The Oddest $6B Deal of the Year

Trump Media is merging with fusion power pioneer TAE Technologies, in a deal that mashes social media with nuclear dreams.

The all-stock transaction is valued at over $6B, giving each side roughly half of the combined company.
Trump Media (parent of Truth Social) is betting on fusion as data centers and AI workloads demand massive new energy sources.
TAE has spent nearly 30 years chasing fusion breakthroughs, now gaining a splashy partner with political clout and public visibility.

Trump Media, trading under ticker DJT, saw its stock surge after the announcement. The merger is expected to close in mid-2026, marking one of the strangest pairings yet between tech, energy, and politics.

✅ Why it matters: This isn’t just a quirky mashup, it’s a signal that AI’s energy hunger is reshaping corporate strategy. Fusion power, once sci-fi, is being pulled into mainstream business moves.

⚠️ But the risks are huge: fusion is still unproven at scale, and mixing it with a volatile media brand could be combustible.