In 2025, we witnessed a true Product Hunt (r)evolution so many things changed dramatically. I honestly think this was the most intense year of changes the platform has ever had.
For example, we got to experience all of this:
Verifying profiles (badges)
Alternative product suggestions on launch pages
Views and online count on forum posts
Adding/Removing the ambassador program
Forums instead of Discussions
Changing the UX/UI of launch pages
Removing Coming soon (Notify me pages)
Adding/Removing downvotes on comments
Forum comments now showing up on our profiles
More extensive footer
Redesign of the main page UI (e.g., new notification icon)
Last night I opened LinkedIn for a moment, and at that moment, someone wrote to me who is going to relaunch a product after a year and a half. (Yes, I do not have anything to work on Friday night, don't blame me, I do not have a social life) :D
Needless to say, a lot has changed on this platform in a year.
Last week, OpenAI announced a full-year free subscription for Indian users starting November 4. On top of that, they ve rolled out a Learning Accelerator program offering 5 lakh ChatGPT licenses to students and educators, and begun hiring engineers in Bengaluru.
So why the sudden focus?
Here s my take:
India is now OpenAI s 2nd-largest user base, and probably the fastest-growing.
By locking in early brand trust and language familiarity, OpenAI is essentially building a moat for the next billion users.
The country has 700 million + internet users, but very low per-capita SaaS/AI spending. That s a huge conversion opportunity.
Local competition is heating up as Perplexity, Gemini, and even smaller Indian startups are fighting for daily-use adoption.
I have been using Duolingo for almost 3 years to learn a language, but I don't know anything at all.
Of course, I have some basic vocabulary from the vocabulary words, but it's not conversational level. I'm currently considering buying textbooks and workbooks.
The AI researchers at Andon Labs, the people who gave Anthropic Claude an office vending machine to run, and hilarity ensued, have published the results of a new AI experiment.
They wanted to see if LLMs were technically capable of functioning as a robot s brain, that is, connecting their thinking (textual decision-making) with real sensors and movement.
Do you remember that social media (decentralised) platform that experienced such a boom one year ago? Yeah, Bluesky as for today, hit 40 M users (I understood that "accounts") and is trying to improve experience, such as:
adding downvoting system dislikes, moderation tools (e.g. detecting toxic comments),
Most people think users choose products based on features or price. In reality, support decides who stays.
A cheaper tool becomes expensive fast when every issue turns into a ticket nightmare. Meanwhile, teams keep paying more for products that solve problems and support them when it matters.
Support is not a cost. It is part of the product experience. Fast replies build trust. Clear answers reduce churn. Companies that treat support as a growth lever win.
Most people think users choose products based on features or price. In reality, support decides who stays.
A cheaper tool becomes expensive fast when every issue turns into a ticket nightmare. Meanwhile, teams keep paying more for products that solve problems and support them when it matters.
Support is not a cost. It is part of the product experience. Fast replies build trust. Clear answers reduce churn. Companies that treat support as a growth lever win.
I ve noticed two main narratives in how companies view their competitors.
Either it s a fight to the death approach exactly like what we see between Replit and Lovable (though it seems Replit does more of the provoking ) basically: We speak badly about our competition.
Today, I read 2 messages that are contradictory in nature, and it seems like one branch is rebelling against the other.
Meta and other big tech companies are replacing human workers with AI.
Heineken, Aerie, Polaroid, and even Cadbury are riding the anti-AI wave, mocking Big Tech and positioning human-made creativity as the ultimate authenticity flex.
How do you think that these pro and anti streams can affect the evolution of AI and our perception of its use?
Are you the kind of person who believes in your dream enough to burn through most of your savings on it?
For millionaires, this might not be a big deal, but what about people with a typical 9 5 job? I see how much a solid marketing campaign costs on just one platform (often the monthly expense is equal to at least a full year s salary).
The day before yesterday, a friend told me he and his wife are closing their restaurant, which they opened just six months ago. They had taken a loan for it, which makes it even worse.
Over time, I ve realized how much effort we put into our websites on landing pages, pricing, testimonials, product tours and yet, most visitors only ever deeply interact with one or two sections depending on your ICP.
For developer-first products, that s usually docs.
For consumer apps, maybe it s onboarding or pricing.
For enterprise tools, perhaps case studies or ROI calculators.
@OpenAI just launched ChatGPT Atlas, its own browser for macOS that bakes the model right into every tab. You can highlight text to summarize or rewrite it, chat alongside any site, and keep the AI open in a split view while you browse.
It even remembers what you ve been doing over time, though that s already raising privacy flags.
What s interesting is that Atlas doesn t feel like a new product it just feels like ChatGPT trying to absorb the browser itself.
Elon Musk was extremely frustrated that Wikipedia couldn t be manipulated, and he even offered $1 billion if they renamed it to d*ckipedia.
Since that didn t work out, he s now trying to build his own platform for gathering information claiming that Wikipedia is hopelessly biased, and that left-leaning editors influence its content.
Elon Musk was extremely frustrated that Wikipedia couldn t be manipulated, and he even offered $1 billion if they renamed it to d*ckipedia.
Since that didn t work out, he s now trying to build his own platform for gathering information claiming that Wikipedia is hopelessly biased, and that left-leaning editors influence its content.
I have been a Product Hunt user for 5 years now, and it's been amazing to see how much the platform has evolved.
That said, I sometimes feel the absence of AI-native features. Things like smart filtering of fake profiles during the signup stage, automated link health checks on launch pages, or even an AI-driven support assistant (remember the old chat widget?).
