Google’s $36M Fine in Australia, ChatGPT’s $2B App Revenue & U.S.–Russia Deal on Ukraine Security

18th August, 2025

Google is hit with a $36 million fine in Australia over anti-competitive deals with telcos, extending a turbulent run of legal setbacks. ChatGPT’s mobile app crosses $2 billion in consumer spending, cementing its lead over rivals. In geopolitics, a U.S. envoy says Russia has agreed to NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

• Google Fined $36 Million in Australia Over Anti-Competitive Deals With Telecom Giants

  
  

• Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O),  internet giant in Australia, where last week a court mostly ruled against it in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games accusing Google and Apple (AAPL.O), of preventing rival application stores in their operating systems. Google's YouTube was also added last month  to an Australian ban on social media platforms admitting users aged under 16, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the video-sharing site. 

  
  

  On anti-competitive tie-ups with Australian telcos, the country's consumer watchdog on Monday said Google struck deals with Telstra (TLS.AX), and Optus, under which the tech giant shared with them advertising revenue generated from Google Search on Android devices between late 2019 and early 2021. Google admitted the arrangement had a substantial impact on competition from rival search engines, and has stopped signing similar deals while also agreeing to the fine, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) added. "Today's outcome ... created the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice in the future, and for competing search providers to gain meaningful exposure to Australian consumers," ACCC Chair Gina-Cass Gottlieb said.

  
  

  Google and the ACCC have jointly submitted to the Federal Court that Google should pay the A$55 million fine. The court must still decide if the penalty is appropriate, the ACCC said, but the cooperation between the regulator and Google has helped avoid lengthy litigation. A Google spokesperson said the company was pleased to resolve the ACCC's concerns which involved "provisions that haven't been in our commercial agreements for some time". "We are committed to providing Android device makers more flexibility to pre-load browsers and search apps, while preserving the offerings and features that help them innovate, compete with Apple, and keep costs low," the spokesperson added. Reuters

  
  
  
  

• ChatGPT Mobile App Crosses $2 Billion in Revenue, Averaging $2.91 Per Install

  
  

• ChatGPT’s mobile app is raking in revenue. Since launching in May 2023, ChatGPT’s app for iOS and Android devices has reached $2 billion in global consumer spending, according to a new analysis by app intelligence provider Appfigures which is approximately 30x the combined lifetime spending of ChatGPT’s rivals on mobile, including Claude, Copilot, and Grok, the analysis indicates.

  
  

  So far this year, ChatGPT’s mobile app has made $1.35 billion, up 673% year-over-year from the $174 million it made during the same period (January-July) in 2024, per the data. On average, the app is generating close to $193 million per month, up from $25 million last year which is significantly higher — or about 53x higher — than ChatGPT’s next nearest competitor, Grok, which made approximately $25.6 million this year to date. Grok’s average monthly consumer spending is estimated at $3.6 million, or 1.9% of ChatGPT’s. This data suggests that other consumer chatbots still have a way to go to catch up with ChatGPT’s dominance on mobile devices, even if the numbers don’t provide a complete picture of the AI companies’ overall revenue. Consumers, teams, and businesses can also subscribe to AI plans on the web, and the companies generate revenue in other ways, too, like via their APIs. Rather, this new data offers a window into the apps’ traction with consumers, who discover and pay for these AI assistants via the mobile app stores. It’s also worth noting that when xAI’s Grok launched in November 2023 (after ChatGPT), Grok didn’t initially have stand-alone iOS or Android apps. Instead, users interacted with the AI chatbot through the X platform. Grok only became available on mobile devices through its own iOS app as of early January 2025 and has been on Google Play since March 4.

  
  

  Still, ChatGPT’s lifetime global spending per download is $2.91, compared to Claude’s $2.55, Grok’s $0.75, and Copilot’s $0.28, Appfigures found. In the U.S., ChatGPT’s spending per download to date is even higher, at $10, leading the market to account for 38% of the app’s revenue to date. Germany is the second-largest market, accounting for 5.3% of ChatGPT’s lifetime total spending. ChatGPT’s lead can also be seen in terms of downloads. To date, the app has been installed an estimated 690 million times globally, compared with Grok’s 39.5 million. (That puts X owner Elon Musk’s recent complaints about the App Store’s alleged favoritism of ChatGPT in its Top Charts into better context.) Average monthly downloads of ChatGPT globally are now at approximately 45 million, up 180% from about 16 million in January through July of 2024.  In 2025 so far, ChatGPT’s app has been downloaded 318 million times, or 2.8x more than the 113 million it saw during the same period last year. By the number of installs, however, India is the top market, accounting for 13.7% of lifetime downloads, compared with second place, the U.S., which accounted for 10.3% of all downloads. TechCrunch 

  
  
  
  

• White House Envoy Says Russia Agreed to ‘Article 5-Like’ Security Guarantees for Ukraine

  
  

• U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow the United States and European nations to give Ukraine “Article 5-like protection” as a security guarantee to bring an end to the war.  “We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article Five-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN. It was “the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that,” he continued. NATO’s Article 5 says that “if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that she welcomed the security guarantees for Ukraine, and that the “European Union ... is ready to do its share,” according to the Associated Press. 

  
  

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it is “a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine,” according to a post on X. “Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Special envoy Witkoff’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump met in Alaska with Putin amid his country’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Trump and his administration hailed the talks as “productive,” but details of the meeting have so far been scant. Trump, in the lead-up to his meeting with Putin, repeatedly stressed the need for an urgent, long-lasting ceasefire in the war. Europe’s participation,” he wrote. 

  
  

  The talks did not yield such an agreement, sparking concern among officials in Ukraine and European nations that Trump was moving away from the goal. In the days since the talks, Trump, however, has said that the “best way” to end the war is “to go directly to a Peace Agreement.” Witkoff said Sunday that Trump and Putin “covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal” during their hours-long meeting, without providing additional details. “We began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal,” he said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Sunday that Russia will face “additional consequences” if Trump’s effort to end the war “doesn’t work out,” but warned against implementing additional sanctions. “The minute you levy additional sanctions, strong additional sanctions, the talking stops,” he said on ABC News. Rubio added that “we’re still a long ways off” from a peace agreement. “We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remain some big areas of disagreement,” he said. “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement, we’re not at the edge of one, but I do think progress was made towards one.” CNBC

  
  

• Air Canada Flight Attendants Defy Back-to-Work Order, Extend Strike Standoff

  
  

• Air Canada's (AC.TO), striking flight attendants on Sunday refused a government-backed labor board's order to return to work, forcing the airline to delay restarting its operations and leaving its passengers in limbo. The Canadian Union of Public Employee said the 10,000 Air Canada attendants it represents would remain on strike, calling the order unconstitutional and "designed to protect the airline's profit." Instead, it invited Air Canada - the country's largest airline - back to the table to "negotiate a fair deal."

  In response, the airline said it would delay plans to restart operations from Sunday until Monday evening. The refusal by the union to obey the order left many travelers at Toronto Pearson International Airport confused and frustrated on Sunday afternoon. Many of them were camped out in airport lounges, uncertain whether when and if flights would resume or whether Air Canada would make tentative arrangements. "We are kind of left to figure it out for ourselves and fend for ourselves with no recourse or options provided by Air Canada at this time," said Elizabeth Fourney of Vancouver. Francesca Tondini, a 50-year-old from Italy, said she was about to return home after visiting Canada when her flight was canceled on Saturday and again on Sunday. When she asked Air Canada when the flight would finally depart, the airline responded, "maybe tomorrow, maybe Tuesday, maybe Friday, maybe Saturday - they don't know!," she said.

  
  

  The flight attendants began their strike early on Saturday morning, after negotiations that had dragged on for months reached an impasse. In anticipation, the airline canceled most of its 700 daily flights, forcing more than 100,000 travelers to scramble for alternatives. Within hours of the strike declaration, the Canada Industrial Relations Board complied with a request by Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and ordered binding arbitration. The Canada Labour Code gives the government the power to ask the CIRB to impose such an order in the interest of protecting the economy. "The federal government has entrusted a board to administer these rules in the Canadian Labor Code, and if you defy them, you are transgressing and essentially violating the law," said Rafael Gomez, a professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto. It is exceedingly rare for a union to defy a back-to-work order. In 1978, Canadian postal workers refused to comply with back-to-work legislation, resulting in fines and the jailing of their union leader for contempt of Parliament. The government's best option is to go to court to enforce the order and secure a contempt order if the union refused to back down, said Michael Lynk, professor emeritus at Western University's Faculty of Law in London, Ontario. "The union leadership could face the same consequences as what happened 45 years ago. It could be fines against the union ... potential of jail time for the union leaders," he said. The minority Liberal government could also try to pass back-to-work legislation, but that would require support of political rivals and approval in both houses of parliament, which is on break until Sept. 15. "Like many Canadians, the minister is monitoring this situation closely," Jennifer Kozelj, Hajdu's press secretary, said in a statement. "The Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Board) is an independent tribunal. Please refer to them regarding your question," she added in response to questions about the union's defiance of the order and about the refusal of the board's leader, a former Air Canada counsel, to recuse herself from the decision.

  
  

  The government, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, intervened last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy. Lynk said the CUPE was also likely to file a legal challenge to the order. The government's use of its extraordinary power to force binding arbitration through CIRB, called Section 107, is relatively new. Unions have criticized the provision, saying such interference favors employers and denies their right to collective bargaining. The most contentious issue has been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are largely paid only when their plane is moving. Reuters

  
  
  
  

• Winklevoss Twins’ Gemini Files for IPO Amid Heavy Losses and Crypto Market Shift

  
  

• Gemini Space Station Inc., the New York-based crypto exchange and custodian founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is heading to the public markets. The company, founded in 2014, has filed to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker GEMI, according to an S-1 submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday.

  
  

  Gemini operates as both an exchange and custodian, offering a wide range of products and services including a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, crypto staking, a credit card that rewards customers in crypto, and institutional offerings such as crypto custody and over-the-counter trading. The platform currently holds more than $18 billion in assets, according to its filing. But the numbers highlight financial strain. Gemini reported a net loss of $282.5 million on $67.9 million in revenue for the first six months of 2025—more than quadruple the $41.4 million net loss on $73.5 million in revenue from the same period a year earlier. For full-year 2024, the company posted a net loss of $158.5 million on $142.2 million in revenue. Transaction revenue from volume-based trades accounted for about 65.5% of Gemini’s revenue in the first half of 2025.

  
  

  The Winklevoss twins, who each have an estimated net worth of $7.5 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, remain Gemini’s dominant shareholders with stakes of at least 5% each. Cameron serves as president, while Tyler holds the role of CEO. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are leading the IPO. Gemini’s road to the public market hasn’t been without controversy. In 2023, the company faced SEC charges for selling unregistered securities through its Gemini Earn lending program. While those charges were dropped earlier this year, Gemini agreed to pay $5 million to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission lawsuit in January over allegations it misled regulators while attempting to launch the first U.S.- regulated Bitcoin futures contract. The company did not admit or deny liability in the case. The move to go public comes as Washington has taken a friendlier stance toward the crypto industry. The Trump administration has embraced digital assets, with President Trump signing new crypto legislation into law this summer. The Winklevoss twins, who attended the signing ceremony, have also supported Trump politically, donating Bitcoin to his campaign—though part of their donation exceeded federal limits and was refunded. Bloomberg has reported that the brothers have invested in American Bitcoin Corp., a mining venture linked to Trump’s sons. Gemini joins a wave of crypto companies tapping public markets amid the shifting regulatory landscape. In June, Circle Internet Group, issuer of the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, raised $1.2 billion in a blockbuster IPO that saw its stock surge 168% on debut. Earlier this month, crypto exchange Bullish—which also owns media outlet CoinDesk and is led by former NYSE president Tom Farley—raised $1.1 billion in its own IPO, with shares climbing more than 84% from its $37 offering price. For the Winklevoss twins, who first rose to prominence through their legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook’s origins, Gemini’s IPO represents both a financial milestone and a public test. With losses widening and competition in the crypto space heating up, investors will now decide if Wall Street believes in the twins’ long-term bet on digital finance. Bloomberg

  
  
  
  

Minor Headlines

• National Australia Bank (NAB) flags a $130M in higher expenses after staff underpayment —  Reuters

  
  

• Qantas Airways fined record A$90M for illegal COVID-era staff sackings —  Reuters

  
  

• U.S. sues California to block truck emissions standards — Reuters

  
  

• Swatch apologizes for ‘slanted eye’ ad backlash in China — Reuters

  
  

• Roblox Shares Fall Following Louisiana Attorney General Suit — CNN

  
  

• Japan’s Nikkei Index (.N225) rose 0.77% to 43,714.31 and Topix Index (.TOPX) rose 0.43% to 3,120.96  as weaker yen boosts automakers — Reuters

  
  

• India proposes slashing taxes on small cars under Modi reforms, sending shares higher Reuters

  
  

• Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman, dies at 87 — Reuters

  
  

• Hurricane Erin downgraded to Category 3 —NHC