# Cisco bets its small open cybersecurity models can outperform GPT-5.5 at vulnerability detection for a fraction of the cost

> Source: <https://the-decoder.com/cisco-bets-its-small-open-cybersecurity-models-can-outperform-gpt-5-5-at-vulnerability-detection-for-a-fraction-of-the-cost/>
> Published: 2026-07-22 16:28:08+00:00

# Cisco bets its small open cybersecurity models can outperform GPT-5.5 at vulnerability detection for a fraction of the cost

**Cisco has released two small, open AI models for cybersecurity.** [Antares-350M and Antares-1B](https://huggingface.co/collections/fdtn-ai/antares) spot vulnerabilities in software code. Cisco's pitch is bang for the buck. [Developer Aman Priyanshu claims on X](https://x.com/AmanPriyanshu6/status/2079703080640364848) that the smallest model catches about 150 times more vulnerabilities per dollar than large AI agents like Cognition's Devin Security Swarm. In Cisco's own tests, [according to Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/21/cisco-open-source-ai-models-cybersecurity), Antares scanned 500 code repos in about 15 minutes for under a dollar. GPT-5.5 took five hours and cost over $100 for the same job.

Both models run locally, so sensitive code never leaves the company. [The technical report](http://cisco-foundation-ai.github.io/antares/technical-report.pdf) says the models were trained on roughly 72 percent security-concept data and 15 percent code search histories.

Cisco is keeping a larger three-billion-parameter version for its own products. That version reportedly performs close to GPT-5.5 and beats open models up to 200 times its size. The company is also exploring an industry consortium for open AI security tools.

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[Paper](https://cisco-foundation-ai.github.io/antares/technical-report.pdf)|

[Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/collections/fdtn-ai/antares)|

[via X](https://twitter-thread.com/t/2079703080640364848)|

[via Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/21/cisco-open-source-ai-models-cybersecurity)