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Jun 20, 2025

Bytes: Week in Review – Trump's mobile venture, online data brokers used to target MN victims, and an OpenAI-Microsoft breakup

Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, joins Marketplace’s Nova Safo on “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

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Bytes: Week in Review – Trump's mobile venture, online data brokers used to target MN victims, and an OpenAI-Microsoft breakup
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

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OpenAI and Microsoft are reportedly caught up in protracted behind-the-scenes negotiations that are in danger of boiling over into public conflict. Plus, prosecutors say the man accused of assassinating a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker used online data brokers to help target his victims.

But first, the Trump Organization unveiled a new venture this week: a mobile service and a smartphone. The device is what got a lot of attention — said to cost $499 and be made in the United States. It didn’t take long for analysts and tech industry experts to challenge that claim. Marketplace’s Nova Safo is joined by Natasha Mascarenhas at The Information, who explains why.

More on everything we talked about

Trump’s $499 smartphone will likely be made in China” from CNBC

I tried signing up for Trump Mobile service. Here’s how it went.” from The Washington Post

Alleged shooter found Minnesota lawmakers’ addresses online, court docs say” from Politico

OpenAI and Microsoft Tensions Are Reaching a Boiling Point” from The Wall Street Journal

Microsoft and OpenAI play high-stakes tug-of-war” from Axios

The Team

Bytes: Week in Review – Trump's mobile venture, online data brokers used to target MN victims, and an OpenAI-Microsoft breakup