TRD The pacing era's first launch day
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2026 9:00 am
.bh__table, .bh__table_header, .bh__table_cell { border: 1px solid #C0C0C0; } .bh__table_cell { padding: 5px; background-color: #FFFFFF; } .bh__table_cell p { color: #2D2D2D; font-family: 'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; } .bh__table_header { padding: 5px; background-color:#F1F1F1; } .bh__table_header p { color: #2A2A2A; font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif !important; overflow-wrap: break-word; } Read Online | Sign Up | AdvertiseGood morning, {{ first_name | AI enthusiasts }}, and welcome to the 20,221 new readers who joined us yesterday. Barely two weeks into the AI industry’s new “pacing” era, the frontier’s two biggest rivals are still launching on each other’s heels.Anthropic and OpenAI shipped models just 90 minutes apart, with a powerful new Opus 5.5 topping leaderboards and GPT-6 Sol and Luna cutting prices in half for near-frontier intelligence. The pace? Still feels pretty fast! In today’s AI rundown:
Anthropic, OpenAI deliver dueling frontier AI discounts
Image source: Anthropic / OpenAIThe Rundown: Anthropic just released Claude Opus 5.5, a model that surpasses its predecessor and even the top-tier Fable 5.1 at 40% less price, with OpenAI answering with GPT-6 Sol and Luna, two new models at half the price of the versions they replace. The details:
Fully Connected 2026: F1, BattleBots, and Pitbull
The Rundown: What do Pitbull, BattleBots, and AI agents all have in common? They’re all happening at Fully Connected 2026. Join 3,000+ AI engineers and leaders in San Francisco, Sept. 29–Oct. 1, for three days of networking, insights, and action toward accelerating the path to superintelligence.This conference gives you access to:
OpenAI taps mathematicians to check its AI
Image source: Images 2.5 / The RundownThe Rundown: OpenAI says a single internal model has resolved 100+ open math problems since it began training on Aug. 28, and it’s now handing nine top mathematicians an advisory role in how those results reach the field.The details:
Build, test, and publish an app without leaving Codex
The Rundown: In this guide, you will learn how to use Codex to prep your app for the App Store. You just need an app, Xcode installed on your Mac, and an Apple Developer account. Codex can handle the rest.Step-by-step:
Build your way at AWS re:Invent
The Rundown: AWS re:Invent returns to Las Vegas, Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, with 2,200+ sessions and 70% hands-on, giving builders the option to design a week that matches how you work. Stack workshops, code talks, and builders’ sessions back to back, or leave room to go deep on one track.While onsite, you can:
a16z’s new AI-driven college alternative
Image source: a16zThe Rundown: VC firm Andreessen Horowitz launched the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a $42M, one-year program for recent high school grads that swaps degrees for startup projects, co-ops at tech giants, and classes by Silicon Valley’s biggest names.The details:
Trending AI Tools
Everything else in AI todayForge by Fireworks brings together leaders building their own frontier on open models. Hear from NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Fireworks CEO Lin Qiao, Microsoft EVP Jay Parikh, and more on Nov. 3 in SF. Apply to attend.* Alibaba unveiled its next AI chip delivering 3x the performance of its predecessor, alongside plans for a 5-10T-param model and 20GW of data-center capacity by 2032.British Columbia sued OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging the company failed to alert police after flagging the Tumbler Ridge shooter’s ChatGPT use.Meta’s Muse reportedly outpaced ChatGPT’s mobile debut, with 1.8M U.S. and Canadian iOS downloads in 12 days to ChatGPT’s 1.3M.Twenty countries and the EU called for stronger global oversight of advanced AI, urging transparent company safety protocols and coordinated government standards. *Sponsored listing
Highlights: News, Guides & Events
Source: https://therundownai.beehiiv.com/p/the- ... launch-day
- Anthropic, OpenAI deliver dueling frontier AI discounts
- OpenAI taps mathematicians to check its AI
- Build, test, and publish an app without leaving Codex
- a16z’s new AI-driven college alternative
Image source: Anthropic / OpenAIThe Rundown: Anthropic just released Claude Opus 5.5, a model that surpasses its predecessor and even the top-tier Fable 5.1 at 40% less price, with OpenAI answering with GPT-6 Sol and Luna, two new models at half the price of the versions they replace. The details: - Opus 5.5 takes the top overall spot on AA’s Intelligence Index at 58, blowing past previous leaders Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra at 53.
- Anthropic addressed Claude’s much-criticized “Claudish” writing, saying that 5.5 skips jargon and sticks more closely to users’ own style rules.
- Anthropic also said 5.5 scored “the best score to date” on internal alignment benchmarking, noting it as the first release following Anthropic’s “pacing” calls.
- GPT-6 Sol and Luna come in with slight score increases over their 5.6 counterparts, but are 50% cheaper at $0.10/$0.50 per M (Luna) and $2/$10 (Sol).
The Rundown: What do Pitbull, BattleBots, and AI agents all have in common? They’re all happening at Fully Connected 2026. Join 3,000+ AI engineers and leaders in San Francisco, Sept. 29–Oct. 1, for three days of networking, insights, and action toward accelerating the path to superintelligence.This conference gives you access to:- 3 tracks and 30+ technical breakout sessions
- 4+ hands-on keyboard labs led by CoreWeave engineers
- Keynotes from CoreWeave, NVIDIA, Capital One, and more
- Entertainment from BattleBots, Pitbull, and F1
Image source: Images 2.5 / The RundownThe Rundown: OpenAI says a single internal model has resolved 100+ open math problems since it began training on Aug. 28, and it’s now handing nine top mathematicians an advisory role in how those results reach the field.The details:- OpenAI says its internal model has resolved problems across most branches of mathematics, alongside its claimed Navier–Stokes breakthrough.
- A new advisory group, hosted at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, includes mathematicians Timothy Gowers, Martin Hairer, and Melanie Matchett Wood.
- It will advise on vetting and releasing results and can weigh in on its views, but members aren’t paid by OAI and won’t advise on how fast it pushes math work.
- Earlier this month, 27 Fields Medalists, including Hairer, signed a letter accusing AI labs of rushing out results without proper credit or understanding.
The Rundown: In this guide, you will learn how to use Codex to prep your app for the App Store. You just need an app, Xcode installed on your Mac, and an Apple Developer account. Codex can handle the rest.Step-by-step:- If you don’t have a ready-to-publish app, Codex can create one. Try: “Build me a calendar planning iOS app for couples. No database or payments”
- Make sure you have Xcode installed, along with at least one iOS simulator. Ask Codex for help if you’re not sure how to do this
- Tell Codex to test the app in the simulator. When it opens, prompt: “Scan for App Store readiness, list what’s missing, then fix it and package it for Xcode”
- Sign up for the Apple Developer Program and subscribe at $99/year. Then, push the final Xcode project to the App Store via App Store Connect
The Rundown: AWS re:Invent returns to Las Vegas, Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, with 2,200+ sessions and 70% hands-on, giving builders the option to design a week that matches how you work. Stack workshops, code talks, and builders’ sessions back to back, or leave room to go deep on one track.While onsite, you can:- Map a personalized agenda around the services you’re actually shipping with
- Swap between structured sessions and open sandbox time as the week unfolds
- Pressure-test your build against edge cases with the engineers who built the service
Image source: a16zThe Rundown: VC firm Andreessen Horowitz launched the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a $42M, one-year program for recent high school grads that swaps degrees for startup projects, co-ops at tech giants, and classes by Silicon Valley’s biggest names.The details: - Udemy’s Gagan Biyani leads the Academy, promising courses from instructors “your textbooks are written about” like Sam Altman and Brian Armstrong.
- The founding class will be roughly 50 students in Fall 2027, with admissions based on what students have built or shipped over grades or test scores.
- Students will also receive $50K in compute credits, a $5K travel budget, and time inside partner startups, with no homework or tests in the program.
- A two-year version planned for 2028 would charge elite-college tuition if regulators approve it, though for now students leave without any degree.
Claude Opus 5.5 - Anthropic’s new Opus that rivals Fable for less
GPT-6 Sol & Luna - OpenAI’s smaller GPT-6 models at half the price
MiMo-V2.6 - Xiaomi’s omnimodal models on par with Opus 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol
Studio 4.0 - ElevenLabs’ AI editor to generate and edit video, music, SFX
- Read our last AI newsletter: Amazon shuts out Meta’s Muse
- Read our last Tech newsletter: Meta’s less-creepy smart glasses
- Read our last Robotics newsletter: Agility’s new ‘safer’ humanoid
- Today’s AI tool guide: Build, test, and publish an app without leaving Codex
- RSVP to next workshop on Sept. 30: Turn Cowork into your chief of staff
Source: https://therundownai.beehiiv.com/p/the- ... launch-day