Anthropic launches Fable 5 AI model as OpenAI eyes token‑price cuts

Anthropic released its Fable 5 model on 9 June 2026, branding it a “Mythos‑level” AI with stronger reasoning, chart interpretation and autonomous agent capabilities. The model is offered through the Claude subscription only until 22 June; thereafter users must pay $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, roughly twice the cost of Anthropic’s previous top‑price model, Claude Opus 4. Fable 5 includes a safety trigger that reverts to Claude Opus 4 when high‑risk queries (e.g., cybersecurity, biology) are posed. Early users have criticised the price, with one Reddit comment noting that a few test prompts consumed 5 % of their monthly quota.

The pricing debate coincides with OpenAI reportedly considering a significant reduction in its token fees, a move that could help it regain market share lost to Anthropic. OpenAI’s own valuation pressures are underscored by its recent filing for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, following Anthropic’s similar IPO filing a week earlier. Both firms are intensifying competition over AI model costs and corporate valuations.