Anthropic launches lower-cost AI model ahead of planned IPO

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Anthropic launches low-cost AI model

Highlights

Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5.5, priced at $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, about 40 per cent cheaper than its predecessor.
Opus 5.5 performs most tasks as well as the more expensive Fable 5.1 and targets expanding Anthropic's mainly business customer base ahead of a planned autumn IPO.
Both Anthropic and rival OpenAI face mounting price competition and growing market share losses to customisable, open-weight Chinese models, pressuring U.S. AI labs.

Pricing strategy before autumn listing

As first reported by Financial Times, the San Francisco-based company released Claude Opus 5.5 on Tuesday and said it is the first in a new family of models designed to be more cost-efficient than earlier generations. Anthropic says the model is about 40 per cent cheaper to use than its predecessor, as it seeks to strengthen its position in a price battle with OpenAI and lower-cost Chinese rivals.

Opus 5.5 costs $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens. Anthropic says the model can perform most tasks at the same level as Fable 5.1, its most powerful tool, which is priced at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens.

Anthropic is aiming to expand a customer base that is still largely made up of businesses ahead of a planned IPO this autumn. Investors are watching for evidence that the company can maintain rapid growth in the face of tighter pricing and rising competitive pressure, and some have speculated that a fresh model launch could precede the release of its long-awaited IPO prospectus.

Competitive pressure and safety positioning

Rival OpenAI has also cut model prices in recent months as it tries to reignite growth after a slow start to the year. The company now claims to offer the most powerful model on the market, Astra, adding to pressure on Anthropic as customers become more sensitive to cost.

At the same time, both companies are facing renewed competition from open-weight models that users can customise and run on their own hardware. According to data cited from cloud application company Vercel, those models, mostly from China, are taking market share from U.S. AI labs.

Opus 5.5 is the first model Anthropic has released since chief executive Dario Amodei called on AI labs to pace frontier development to reduce risks linked to security breaches after researchers warned about extreme potential harms. Anthropic says the model underwent extensive alignment testing, pre-release evaluation by outside organisations and includes safeguards for high-risk areas such as cyber security and biology.

Our earlier report on Nscale’s planned IPO explained how the AI data-center developer is pitching rapid contract growth while investors focus on heavy customer concentration. We noted that most of Nscale’s contracted value is tied to just two counterparties—Microsoft and Anthropic—and that deal conditions and milestone requirements add execution risk as the company seeks a high-profile NYSE listing.

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