Grok 4.6 launched on Wednesday. Qwen 3.8-Max hit a few hours later. Then, on Thursday, DeepSeek V4-Pro followed. Three frontier models in about 24 hours, and all three pitched on cost because the capabilities are assumed.
It’s hard to argue against Elon Musk's post on X: “Grok 4.6 is objectively #1 when considering intelligence, speed & cost”. Two years ago, frontier launches were about capability. Now they’re about price. Every benchmark existed to justify a cheaper bill.
Two of the three frontier launches this week came with downloadable weights, which is why the ceiling on what a closed lab can charge is increasingly set by companies giving their models away.
And that explains why Elon’s Cursor deal makes considerably more sense today than it did in June. When models converge on price, the money moves to whomever decides which model gets the job. Musk bought that.
AI adoption isn’t the same as AI usage High token spend isn't real AI adoption. Discover how engineering teams can move past vanity metrics to create lasting workflow shifts.
Why CPUs still matter in the age of AI agents
Everyone's talking about GPUs and TPUs, but in this episode, Google's Mo Farhat and Arm's Bhumik Patel make the case that the CPU is quietly becoming the backbone of agentic AI. Tune in to catch this insightful discussion on the CPU and why it's getting more important, not less, as AI shifts from chatbots to agents.
After a 5-year hiatus, DevOps Days is returning to Portland! Part of a worldwide series of technical conferences, this gathering features curated talks and open spaces covering software development, IT operations, automation, testing, security, and culture. Friends of The New Stack get 20% off their registration. We hope to see you here in the city where TNS first got started!
Most observability platforms force a tradeoff: alert on everything and pay exponentially, or scale back and accept the blind spots. This upcoming live session shows how two OpenSearch capabilities close that gap: no licensing tiers, no ingestion ceiling. Spots are limited for this webinar; register today to claim yours!
WeAreDevelopers welcome reception with The New Stack and Dynatrace
Join us at The Tech Interactive in San Jose as we celebrate the first North American WAD World Congress. You're invited for elevated bites, beverages, and banter from 6–8 PM on September 23 while exploring one of the Bay Area's best tech museums. Mingle with the brightest minds, VIPs, and The New Stack's Editorial team—don't miss out! Space is limited, so get your name on the list soon!
All Things Open is a technology conference focusing on the tools, processes, and people making open source possible. The sophisticated and diverse audience is a technical one that includes designers, developers, decision makers, entrepreneurs, and technologists of all types and skill levels. The conference takes place in Raleigh Research Triangle (RTP), the world-wide headquarters of leading tech and open source companies.
Roadmap Pro gives you a personal AI coach and on-demand courses tailored to where you want to go, whether that's deepening your Kubernetes fundamentals, sharpening your ML infrastructure skills, or picking up a new tool for your stack.
Visual career roadmaps for DevOps, platform engineering, and every major tech stack.
A personal AI coach that guides you through your learning journey.
Generate custom courses on the fly. No more digging through endless documentation.
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