{
  "api_version": "1",
  "updated": "2026-11-10",
  "latest_event": "2026-11-09",
  "rights": "© Frontier Log, all rights reserved.",
  "story": {
    "slug": "frontier-launch-pace",
    "title": "Frontier Model Launches Are Coming Faster",
    "description": "OpenAI, Anthropic and Google launched 14 frontier models in 2026 through Nov 7, up from 12 in 2025.",
    "url": "https://frontierlog.ai/stories/frontier-launch-pace",
    "date": "2026-11-07",
    "image": "https://frontierlog.ai/og/story-frontier-launch-pace.png",
    "event": "2026-10-28-gemini-4-carbon",
    "tags": [
      "model-releases"
    ],
    "steps": [],
    "tables": [],
    "cites": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.anthropic.com/news",
        "by": "Anthropic",
        "medium": "news page",
        "date": "2026-11-07"
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-7-sonnet",
      "https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-4-5",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-thinking-updates-march-2025/",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-1",
      "https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5",
      "https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-1",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/gemini-3-developers/",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-5",
      "https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-2",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-6",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-1-pro/",
      "https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-4",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-7",
      "https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-5",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-8",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5",
      "https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/claude-fable-and-mythos-5-1",
      "https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-4-argon/",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/introducing-gemini-4-carbon/",
      "https://openai.com/index/previewing-gpt-5-6-sol",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-4-5",
      "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-5/",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news/enterprise-frontier-safeguards",
      "https://www.anthropic.com/news"
    ],
    "updates": [],
    "body": [
      {
        "figure": "main"
      },
      {
        "p": "OpenAI, Anthropic and Google launched 14 frontier models between Jan 1 and Nov 7, 2026, up from 12 in all of 2025, by the dates of the labs' own launch posts. As of Nov 7, it had been 65 days since OpenAI's latest, [GPT-6 Astra](https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra), 46 days since Anthropic's, [Claude Opus 5.5](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5), and 10 days since Google's, [Gemini 4 Carbon](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/introducing-gemini-4-carbon/). All three labs have had longer gaps earlier this year."
      },
      {
        "table": {
          "cols": [
            "Model",
            "Lab",
            "Launch post",
            "Days since the lab's previous one"
          ],
          "rows": [
            [
              "[Gemini 2.0 Pro](/model/gemini-2-0-pro)",
              "Google",
              "[Feb 5, 2025](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/)",
              "–"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude 3.7 Sonnet](/model/claude-3-7-sonnet)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Feb 24, 2025](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-7-sonnet)",
              "–"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-4.5](/model/gpt-4-5)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Feb 27, 2025](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-4-5)",
              "–"
            ],
            [
              "[Gemini 2.5 Pro](/model/gemini-2-5-pro)",
              "Google",
              "[Mar 25, 2025](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-thinking-updates-march-2025/)",
              "48"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4](/model/claude-opus-4)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[May 22, 2025](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-4)",
              "87"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4.1](/model/claude-opus-4-1)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Aug 5, 2025](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-1)",
              "75"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5](/model/gpt-5)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Aug 7, 2025](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5)",
              "161"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Sonnet 4.5](/model/claude-sonnet-4-5)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Sep 29, 2025](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-4-5)",
              "55"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5.1](/model/gpt-5-1)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Nov 12, 2025](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-1)",
              "97"
            ],
            [
              "[Gemini 3 Pro](/model/gemini-3-pro)",
              "Google",
              "[Nov 18, 2025](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/gemini-3-developers/)",
              "238"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4.5](/model/claude-opus-4-5)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Nov 24, 2025](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-5)",
              "56"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5.2](/model/gpt-5-2)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Dec 11, 2025](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-2)",
              "29"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4.6](/model/claude-opus-4-6)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Feb 5, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-6)",
              "73"
            ],
            [
              "[Gemini 3.1 Pro](/model/gemini-3-1-pro)",
              "Google",
              "[Feb 19, 2026](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-1-pro/)",
              "93"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5.4](/model/gpt-5-4)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Mar 5, 2026](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-4)",
              "84"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4.7](/model/claude-opus-4-7)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Apr 16, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-7)",
              "70"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5.5](/model/gpt-5-5)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Apr 23, 2026](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-5)",
              "49"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 4.8](/model/claude-opus-4-8)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[May 28, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-8)",
              "42"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Fable 5](/model/claude-fable-5)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Jun 9, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5)",
              "12"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-5.6 Sol](/model/gpt-5-6-sol)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Jul 9, 2026](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6)",
              "77"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 5](/model/claude-opus-5)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Jul 24, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5)",
              "45"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Fable 5.1](/model/claude-fable-5-1)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Sep 1, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-fable-and-mythos-5-1)",
              "39"
            ],
            [
              "[GPT-6 Astra](/model/gpt-6-astra)",
              "OpenAI",
              "[Sep 3, 2026](https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra)",
              "56"
            ],
            [
              "[Claude Opus 5.5](/model/claude-opus-5-5)",
              "Anthropic",
              "[Sep 22, 2026](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-opus-5-5)",
              "21"
            ],
            [
              "[Gemini 4 Argon](/model/gemini-4-argon)",
              "Google",
              "[Sep 30, 2026](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-4-argon/)",
              "223"
            ],
            [
              "[Gemini 4 Carbon](/model/gemini-4-carbon)",
              "Google",
              "[Oct 28, 2026](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/introducing-gemini-4-carbon/)",
              "28"
            ]
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "h": "Anthropic launched the most"
      },
      {
        "p": "Anthropic launched five frontier models in 2025 and seven in 2026. Its gaps in 2025 ran 87, 75, 55 and 56 days, the last two around [Claude Sonnet 4.5](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-sonnet-4-5), which Anthropic called “our most capable model” on Sep 29, 2025. In 2026 its gaps ranged from 12 to 73 days, the shortest between [Claude Opus 4.8](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-4-8) on May 28 and [Claude Fable 5](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5) on Jun 9. Since then it has alternated Opus and Fable models, with [Opus 5](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-opus-5) on Jul 24, [Fable 5.1](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-fable-and-mythos-5-1) on Sep 1 and Opus 5.5 on Sep 22."
      },
      {
        "h": "OpenAI's count held as its gaps shortened"
      },
      {
        "p": "OpenAI launched four frontier models in each year. After [GPT-4.5](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-4-5) on Feb 27, 2025, it waited 161 days for [GPT-5](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5), then 97 for [GPT-5.1](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-1) and 29 for [GPT-5.2](https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-2). Its gaps in 2026 ran 84, 49, 77 and 56 days, the last from [GPT-5.6 Sol](https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6) on Jul 9 to GPT-6 Astra on Sep 3."
      },
      {
        "h": "Google's launches come in pairs"
      },
      {
        "p": "Google launched three frontier models in each year, two of them close together each time. [Gemini 2.5 Pro](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-thinking-updates-march-2025/) followed [Gemini 2.0 Pro](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/gemini-model-updates-february-2025/) by 48 days in 2025, before a 238-day gap to [Gemini 3 Pro](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/gemini-3-developers/). After [Gemini 3.1 Pro](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-1-pro/) on Feb 19, 2026, Google went 223 days to [Gemini 4 Argon](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-4-argon/) on Sep 30, then 28 days to Gemini 4 Carbon, which it called “our strongest model”. Google released both first to a group of cyber defenders."
      },
      {
        "h": "Which models count"
      },
      {
        "p": "The count takes each lab's top-tier line, as the labs present it at launch: OpenAI's main GPT model, Anthropic's Opus and Fable models, and Google's Pro and Argon models. It adds any model a lab calls its most capable when it launches, such as Claude 3.7 Sonnet, Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Gemini 4 Carbon. It leaves out smaller tiers, OpenAI's o-series reasoning models, and restricted-access models such as Claude Mythos Preview and Mythos 5, and the Cyber models. It also leaves out [Gemini 3.5 Flash](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/gemini-models/gemini-3-5/), which Google called “our strongest agentic and coding model yet”, a claim limited to that work. Each model is dated by the post that introduced it. OpenAI [previewed GPT-5.6 Sol](https://openai.com/index/previewing-gpt-5-6-sol) to a limited group on Jun 26, 2026, and the count dates it by its general release on Jul 9. Anthropic's pages for Fable 5.1 and Opus 5.5 don't give a launch day: Fable 5.1 is dated by Anthropic's [Enterprise Frontier Safeguards post](https://www.anthropic.com/news/enterprise-frontier-safeguards) of Sep 1, which names it, and Opus 5.5 by Anthropic's [news page](https://www.anthropic.com/news)."
      }
    ],
    "events": [
      "2025-02-05-gemini-2-0-flash-flash-lite-and-pro",
      "2025-02-24-claude-3-7-sonnet",
      "2025-02-24-claude-code",
      "2025-02-27-gpt-4-5",
      "2025-03-25-gemini-2-5-pro",
      "2025-05-22-claude-4",
      "2025-05-22-claude-code-ga",
      "2025-08-05-claude-opus-4-1",
      "2025-08-07-gpt-5",
      "2025-09-29-claude-agent-sdk",
      "2025-09-29-claude-sonnet-4-5",
      "2025-11-12-gpt-5-1",
      "2025-11-18-gemini-3-pro",
      "2025-11-18-google-antigravity",
      "2025-11-24-claude-opus-4-5",
      "2025-12-11-gpt-5-2",
      "2026-02-05-claude-opus-4-6",
      "2026-02-19-gemini-3-1-pro",
      "2026-03-05-gpt-5-4",
      "2026-04-16-claude-opus-4-7",
      "2026-04-23-gpt-5-5",
      "2026-05-19-gemini-3-5-flash",
      "2026-05-28-claude-opus-4-8",
      "2026-06-09-claude-fable-5-mythos-5",
      "2026-06-26-gpt-5-6-sol-preview",
      "2026-07-09-gpt-5-6",
      "2026-07-24-claude-opus-5",
      "2026-09-01-claude-fable-5-1-mythos-5-1",
      "2026-09-01-enterprise-frontier-safeguards",
      "2026-09-03-gpt-6-astra",
      "2026-09-22-claude-opus-5-5",
      "2026-09-30-gemini-4-argon",
      "2026-10-28-gemini-4-carbon"
    ],
    "stories": [],
    "models": [
      "gemini-2-0-pro",
      "claude-3-7-sonnet",
      "gpt-4-5",
      "gemini-2-5-pro",
      "claude-opus-4",
      "claude-opus-4-1",
      "gpt-5",
      "claude-sonnet-4-5",
      "gpt-5-1",
      "gemini-3-pro",
      "claude-opus-4-5",
      "gpt-5-2",
      "claude-opus-4-6",
      "gemini-3-1-pro",
      "gpt-5-4",
      "claude-opus-4-7",
      "gpt-5-5",
      "claude-opus-4-8",
      "claude-fable-5",
      "gpt-5-6-sol",
      "claude-opus-5",
      "claude-fable-5-1",
      "gpt-6-astra",
      "claude-opus-5-5",
      "gemini-4-argon",
      "gemini-4-carbon"
    ]
  }
}