OpenAI is reportedly planning to launch specialized artificial intelligence (AI) agents for advanced applications, with pricing reaching up to $20,000 per month for a 'PhD-level research' agent. These agents are designed for high-value use cases such as conducting complex research, software development, and knowledge-based tasks. The company is also considering other AI agents at lower price points, including a $10,000-per-month software developer agent and a $2,000-per-month knowledge worker agent. These offerings reflect OpenAI's efforts to monetize its technology and address its financial challenges, including reported losses of $5 billion last year. Reports highlight that OpenAI investor SoftBank has committed $3 billion to support the development of these high-end AI products. Additionally, OpenAI is exploring chain-of-thought (CoT) monitoring to detect misbehavior in AI models, such as reward hacking, which remains a challenge. Comparisons have been drawn to Google's Gemini feature, which offers similar research capabilities at a lower price point.