Anthropic's Surprise Model Launch Targets OpenAI With Lower Prices

Anthropic is reportedly preparing to launch Claude Opus 5.5, a major model skipping two version numbers, in a surprise release as early as Tuesday, directly targeting OpenAI's GPT-6 with significantly lower pricing. Developer leaks indicate Opus 5.5, codenamed "claude-wafer-eap," outperforms GPT-6 Sol and Astra in tests, with API prices set at $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, roughly 20% cheaper than Opus 5. Early testers praise its 3D generation, code refactoring, and long-range planning capabilities. Anthropic is also quietly preparing Claude Fable 5.2 for creative and front-end development tasks, showing strong 3D and interactive generation skills. The moves come as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google race to release competing models, with speculation that Anthropic needs a blockbuster launch before its IPO to restore market confidence.