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Frontier models

"Frontier models" are the most capable general-purpose AI models available at a given time, such as the top tiers from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. The term is used in both industry and regulation, and its meaning moves as the state of the art advances.

73 stories · updated Oct 26

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Key facts

Checked Oct 9

Frontier Model Forum: 501(c)(6) nonprofit, established 2023
FMF definition: General-purpose; outperforms models in wide use ≥12 months on benchmarks or high-risk capability assessments
EU AI Act threshold: > 10^25 FLOPs training compute presumes high-impact capabilities (Art. 51(2))
Example: Anthropic top tier: Claude Fable 5.1 ($10/$50 per MTok), Claude Opus 5.5 ($4/$20)
Example: OpenAI: GPT-6 Astra ($10/$50 per MTok in the API); GPT-6 Sol and Luna in ChatGPT since Oct 7, 2026
Example: Google: Gemini 4 Argon, announced Sep 30, 2026; limited access via the Fairwind Program; not yet on the Gemini API models page as of Oct 8, 2026

Latest on Frontier models

Models · NewsKimi K3.1 Pro: $2/$10 per million tokens, a 55 on Artificial Analysis, and open weights promised by November 4Kimi K3.1 Pro, released by Moonshot AI on October 23, 2026, costs $2 input and $10 output per million tokens, scores 55 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, and is due as open weights by November 4. Its price, benchmarks and what isn't known yet.Oct 26·5 min read

Models · CompareGPT-6 Astra vs GPT-6.1 Sol vs GPT-6 Luna: what each OpenAI model is for, prices, limits and which to use (October 2026)GPT-6 Astra vs 6.1 Sol vs Luna, compared on OpenAI's own pages as of October 23, 2026: Astra costs $10/$50 per million tokens, GPT-6.1 Sol $2/$10 and Luna $0.10/$0.50, all with a 1.05M-token context, but they sit in different parts of ChatGPT.Oct 24·Checked Oct 23

Models · NewsMistral Large 4: $1.36/$4.18 per million tokens, a 1M-token context claim, mid-pack independent scores, and open weights due October 31Mistral Large 4 is a roughly 1-trillion-parameter MoE with 52B active parameters, in API preview since October 6, 2026 at $1.36 input and $4.18 output per million tokens. Independent evaluators place it mid-pack, and the open weights are scheduled for October 31.Oct 24·5 min read

Research · ExplainerNeural networks are "already clean"? Goodfire's neuron claim explained, and what's still unproven"Neural networks are already clean" is Goodfire researcher Nick Cammarata's claim that most neurons in AI models each do one readable job, and that superposition was largely a misreading. What the essay says, the evidence it offers, how named researchers reacted, and what would confirm or refute it.Oct 24·7 min read

Industry · AnalysisIs AI usage slowing? What OpenRouter's token data and Gartner's CIO survey actually showA 'token-maxxing is dead' thread and Gartner's finding that only 13% of CIOs see significant value from AI have revived the question: is AI usage slowing? The public data shows cost discipline and a shift to cheaper models, not a fall in overall use.Oct 20·7 min read

Industry · ExplainerComing soon in AI: launches, deadlines and events to watch in November and December 2026The upcoming AI launches, deadlines and events for November and December 2026, each dated and sourced: model retirements, price rises, the EU AI Act's December 2 deadline, Microsoft Ignite, AWS re:Invent, NeurIPS, and the reported Anthropic IPO window.Oct 20·6 min read

Models · ExplainerGPT-7 release date: what OpenAI has actually said, and what's reportedThere is no GPT-7 release date. As of October 20, 2026, OpenAI hasn't announced GPT-7 at all. Here's what it has shipped (GPT-6 Astra, Sol, Luna and GPT-6.1 Sol), how long its big launches have taken, and what The Information and others have reported about its next flagship.Oct 20·7 min read

Models · ExplainerClaude 6 release date: what Anthropic has said, and what comes after Opus 5.5 and Fable 5.1There is no Claude 6 release date. As of October 20, 2026, Anthropic hasn't announced Claude 6, an Opus 6 or a Fable 5.5. Here's the current lineup, how often Anthropic ships, which models retire when, and what Reuters, The Information and leak-watchers have reported.Oct 20·7 min read

Policy · AnalysisAnthropic's proposed federal AI safety bill: what the 50-deaths / $1 billion threshold means, and how it compares with SB 53 and New York's RAISE ActAnthropic's AI safety bill, a draft it has pitched to Congress, would let a federal court pause a frontier model only on Commerce Department request and only for an imminent risk of harm to more than 50 people or $1 billion in damage. What the threshold does, what it doesn't, and how the draft compares with California's SB 53 and New York's RAISE Act.Oct 20·9 min read

Research · BenchmarksHow far will AI assistants go for a refund they can't get? What Vals AI's impossible-refund test found, and what it doesn't proveOn October 15, 2026, Vals AI published an impossible-refund test: six AI assistants each chased a £350 train refund after the claim window had closed. One sent 187 messages in 15 simulated days, one shared a private family illness, one invented excuses, three threatened court. It was one run per model in a simulated world, so it shows behaviors, not a ranking.Oct 20·8 min read

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