EP 638 : Anthropic vs OpenAI: Opus 5.5 & GPT-6 Sol/Luna Price Wars + a16z AI College Launch

Fast‑forward two weeks into AI’s new “pacing” era and the rivalry between Anthropic and OpenAI is heating up like never before. Anthropic just dropped Claude Opus 5.5, a model that not only tops the AA Intelligence Index at 58 but does so at a 40 % lower price than its predecessor. OpenAI answered in kind with GPT‑6 Sol and Luna, delivering near‑frontier performance at half the cost of the older GPT‑6 variants. In this episode we break down why these price cuts matter, how Opus 5.5 tackles the infamous “Claudish” writing style, and what Sam Altman means when he says “pacing does not mean stopping.”We also dive into OpenAI’s bold move to enlist nine world‑leading mathematicians—including Fields Medalists Timothy Gowers and Martin Hairer—to vet over 100 newly solved math problems. What does this advisory group mean for the credibility of AI‑generated research?And there’s big news from the venture world: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has launched the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a $42 million, one‑year, AI‑driven college alternative that swaps traditional degrees for startup projects, elite mentorship, and $50 k of compute credits. Could this be the blueprint for the next generation of AI builders?We round out the show with the latest AI headlines—from Alibaba’s new AI chip that triples performance to Meta’s Muse overtaking ChatGPT on iOS, a British Columbia lawsuit against OpenAI, and Mirage’s creative suite for AI agents. Listen now, share with fellow AI enthusiasts, and hit subscribe so you never miss a beat in this rapid‑fire AI race.**Tools mentioned:** Claude Opus 5.5, GPT‑6 Sol, GPT‑6 Luna, MiMo‑V2.6, Studio 4.0, Clueso, WZRD, thestory.run.