Anthropic launches Opus 5, nearing the capabilities of Fable 5.

Following Anthropic’s recent engagement with the US government and a notable security incident involving OpenAI, the company unveiled its latest model, Claude Opus 5, on Thursday.

According to the announcement, Opus 5 is said to closely match the capabilities of Claude Fable 5 across various tasks, particularly excelling in complex coding challenges. Fable 5, which previously attracted government scrutiny and was temporarily taken offline alongside Mythos 5, has since returned with enhanced cybersecurity measures.

The concerns surrounding Fable 5 and the subsequent negotiations with the government marked the beginning of a new chapter in AI regulation during the Trump administration. Shortly after, OpenAI introduced GPT-5.6, which underwent a limited preview phase exclusively for government-approved users.

When asked if Opus 5 was reviewed by the Trump administration prior to its public launch, Anthropic spokesperson Danielle Ghiglieri stated that the company continues to collaborate with government partners for independent testing of their models, including Opus 5.

Anthropic is positioning Opus 5 primarily for enterprise clients, highlighting its suitability for knowledge work and biology, while still recommending Fable 5 for more ambitious projects and long-term AI initiatives. The company emphasized that Opus 5 features improved cybersecurity compared to its predecessor, Opus 4.8, and is designed to be the most aligned model, minimizing the risk of misuse.

With this new release, Anthropic appears to address recent controversies regarding hidden usage limits, which have led to at least one lawsuit, as well as concerns about rising costs in the AI sector. The pricing for Opus 5 remains consistent with Opus 4.8 at $5 per million tokens for input and $25 for output, and it is noted to be half the cost of Fable 5, also slightly cheaper than OpenAI’s GPT-5.6.

Additionally, customers can opt for a “Fast mode” for Opus 5, which is being introduced in a research preview, offering increased speeds at double the price. There’s also an option for automatic fallbacks to a lower-tier model if Opus 5 declines a user’s request due to safety protocols.