Price competition among major players in the global AI market is accelerating. In particular, leading companies are rolling out a string of low-cost plans for AI chatbots, setting off a wave of price cuts. This appears aimed at lowering barriers for free users to shift to paid plans, defending market share as much as possible while improving profitability.

Low-cost plans in the AI market were kicked off by OpenAI, drawing more attention as Google responded immediately. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Go, a low-cost ChatGPT plan, in India in August last year and expanded it to the global market earlier this year. ChatGPT Go costs $8 a month and carries ads. Google, in response, launched its $7.99-a-month Google AI Plus plan globally on the 28th.

• ChatGPT opens free access in India for 1 year, moves to pre-empt the market • ChatGPT Go is 60 percent cheaper than Plus; is it worth upgrading? • Low-cost AI plans spread; Google counters ChatGPT Go with AI Plus

Moves by related industries seeking to apply physical AI to manufacturing are also gathering pace.

SK hynix is pushing to establish an AI solutions company in the United States called AI Company, a tentative name. It aims to move beyond being a simple memory maker and become a core partner in the AI data centre ecosystem, based on AI memory technology competitiveness proven through HBM and other products. Microsoft unveiled Rho-alpha, a physical AI robotics model based on Phi series vision-language models. Microsoft aims to help physical systems adapt more flexibly through Rho-alpha.

• SK hynix to set up AI solutions company in the United States • Microsoft expands into physical AI, unveils first robotics model Rho-alpha

Startups and small and medium-sized companies targeting manufacturing AI are also busy. AI-based chip design startup Ricursive Intelligence raised $300 million in a Series A investment. Vision AI company SiseonAI said its robotics subsidiary Uon Robotics has completed development and a prototype of Leader Arm technology targeting the physical AI market, and will move to commercialise it. Industrial AI startup CVector raised $5 million in seed funding. AI-based work automation company InnoRules signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with global company PTC Korea for work automation in manufacturing.

• Ricursive raises $300 million; "dramatically cuts chip design time with AI" • SiseonAI's robotics unit steps up commercialisation of Leader Arm tech targeting physical AI • Industrial AI startup CVector raises $5 million with factory optimisation technology • InnoRules to work with PTC Korea on AI-based work automation in manufacturing

Moves by tech companies at home and abroad to develop or use AI continued this week as well.

Samsung SDS is speeding up its push into South Korea's enterprise AI market based on cooperation with OpenAI. After signing a reseller partner contract with OpenAI, Samsung SDS also held a seminar to share AI adoption strategies and operational insights in corporate environments. ITCEN Cloudit, a cloud managed services provider affiliated with the ITCEN Group, launched AgentGo2026 and entered the AI agent platform race.

• Samsung SDS-OpenAI expansion; major AX push based on ChatGPT Enterprise • Kim Woo-sung (김우성), CEO of ITCEN Cloudit: "Compete with AI agents with proven ROI...on-premise first"

OpenAI launched Prism, an AI workspace that supports scientific research. There is also news that OpenAI is charging early advertisers fairly high prices for ChatGPT ads. It is said to be more than three times as expensive as Meta's social networking services. On OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT, the CEO of Google DeepMind said, "Advertising developed the consumer internet and can be useful if used well, but in the AI assistant model, trust issues can arise."

• OpenAI launches Prism, an AI workspace targeting scientists • How much will ChatGPT ads cost?..."3 times more expensive than Meta SNS" • Google DeepMind CEO reacts "surprised" to OpenAI's move to add ChatGPT ads

Google's push to expand AI into its core services is also pressing ahead. Google introduced a feature that switches directly from AI Overviews to AI Mode to support conversational search. To target Japan's generative AI market, Google invested in local startup Sakana AI and signed a strategic partnership. Google also acquired Common Sense Machines, an AI model development startup specialising in creating 3D assets from 2D images. A week after introducing Personal Intelligence to the Gemini chatbot, Google applied it to AI Mode, an AI-based search feature. Google also added a large number of Gemini AI features to the Chrome browser. The update includes the image generation tool Nano Banana, the personalisation feature Personal Intelligence, and the AI agent Auto Browse. Auto Browse supports users carrying out various tasks on the web with a single command.

• Google unveils direct switch to AI Mode conversation from AI Overviews • Google makes strategic investment in Japan AI startup Sakana AI • Google acquires AI startup specialising in generating 3D assets from 2D images • Google applies Personal Intelligence to AI Mode search • Google adds a large number of Gemini AI features to the Chrome browser

A report said Apple is expected to announce a Siri assistant equipped with Google Gemini AI in mid-February. Apple is also said to be developing a circular AI wearable called Pin, about the size of an AirTag, and plans to produce 20 million units with a goal of launching it in 2027.

• Apple to announce next-generation Siri based on Google Gemini in February • Big companies target AI hardware; Apple also aims to launch wearable Pin in 2027

Anthropic, buoyed by the AI investment boom, doubled its target for a new funding round to $20 billion from $10 billion. Once the round is completed, Anthropic's valuation is expected to reach $350 billion. Anthropic also added an interactive app feature to Claude so users can call and use various external applications.

• Anthropic expands new funding round target to $20 billion • Anthropic adds interactive app feature to Claude, supporting Slack, Figma and others

Alibaba Group unveiled its latest reasoning model, Qwen3-Max-Thinking. The company explained that Qwen3-Max-Thinking has improved performance across several core areas, including factual knowledge processing, complex reasoning, instruction following, alignment with human preferences and agent functions. Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI also introduced a new foundation model, Kimi K2.5.

• Alibaba unveils latest reasoning model Qwen3-Max-Thinking, highlights 2 technical innovations • China's Moonshot AI releases Kimi K2.5 model, strengthens coding and visual data understanding

World-renowned AI scientist Yann LeCun is leaving Meta to set up AMI Labs and work on developing next-generation AI systems. AMI aims to build world models to create intelligent systems that understand reality.

• Yann LeCun's AMI Labs steps up development of AI world models

Adobe announced new partnerships with talent management agencies, hybrid film studios, VFX studios and well-known film directors, aiming to expand its AI platform Firefly Foundry. Cloud-based collaboration software company Airtable unveiled its AI agent, Superagent. Superagent operates independently from Airtable and is available under various plans ranging from $20 to $200 per month.

• Adobe expands collaboration with artists, broadens Firefly Foundry ecosystem • Airtable launches AI agent, targets next-generation AI collaboration platform

BHSN, which operates legal AI platform allibee, launched an all-in-one AI solution, allibee Agent for Legal, to improve efficiency for legal professionals. Douzone Bizon signed a memorandum of understanding with Lotte Innovate, Lotte Group's IT-focused subsidiary, for strategic cooperation on AI-based ERP.

• BHSN launches all-in-one legal AI solution allibee Agent for Legal • Douzone Bizon and Lotte Innovate join hands on AI-based ERP business

As AI emerges as a key theme supporting the stock market, software companies' share prices appear unable to shake weakness. An analysis says this reflects concerns that AI could fundamentally overturn the software landscape.

• [Tech Inside] The reality behind the AI-driven software company crisis argument