Sam is playing 4D chess here. He needs top-tier talent and design to build the next generation of AI hardware, and this move pulls in both capital and talent. Going after Apple—the king of consumer hardware—makes perfect sense: either OpenAI builds the iPhone killer or forces Apple to make a move. They’ve won the web interface so far, but don’t own an OS or device layer, so this helps solve that long-term strategic gap. And since it’s an all-equity deal, there’s basically no downside—John stays aligned, and OpenAI now has elite software and hardware talent under one roof. Huge value unlock.
I used Bench Tax for my two business entities, and paid for the 2024 yearly membership upfront. Recently, Bench announced bankruptcy and was acquired by Employer.com. Soon after, I noticed two new charges on my account for services I had explicitly asked to cancel in early December (I even did an “exit interview” with Bench, since there was no direct way to cancel from the dashboard). Their support promised not to continue charging me—but here I am, still getting billed.
Meanwhile, because I paid for a full year, I expected Employer.com (the new owner) to fulfill the original tax filing services for my two entities. Now they seem unwilling to do so unless I pay again. It feels like they got the customers (and our money) via Bench’s bankruptcy, but aren’t honoring the obligations.
Has anyone else had this experience with Bench Tax under Employer.com or a similar situation? Is the best route to simply dispute the charges? Any advice on how to handle this would be much appreciated.
