{"slug": "openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up", "title": "OpenAI blinks in face-off with Chinese rivals, drops pricing for some models up to 80%", "summary": "OpenAI has slashed developer pricing for its GPT-5.6 Luna model by 80%, cutting API costs to US$0.20 per million input tokens and US$1.20 per million output tokens, as announced by CEO Sam Altman on X. The price cut makes Luna the 'most attractive' in intelligence-per-dollar rankings by Artificial Analysis, surpassing Chinese rivals Zhipu AI's GLM-5.2 and MiniMax's M3, amid intensifying competition from Chinese AI firms.", "body_md": "# OpenAI blinks in face-off with Chinese rivals, drops pricing for some models up to 80%\n\nDramatic move makes GPT-5.6 Luna the ‘most attractive’ in intelligence-per-dollar rankings, above Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2 and MiniMax’s M3\n\n[artificial intelligence](https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article)firm OpenAI has launched an aggressive price war, slashing prices for its latest GPT-5.6 model line-up by up to 80 per cent.\n\nIn a post on social media platform X on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced an 80 per cent drop in developer pricing for its lightweight GPT-5.6 Luna model, bringing application programming interface (API) costs down to US$0.20 per million input tokens and US$1.20 per million output tokens.\n\nAPI fees are what developers pay to integrate AI features directly into their own apps and services.\n\nThe San Francisco-based company also cut rates for its mid-tier GPT-5.6 Terra model by 20 per cent – to US$2 per million input tokens and US$12 per million output tokens – while introducing a “fast mode” for its flagship GPT-5.6 Sol that it said would boost performance speed up to 2.5 times.\n\nThe trio of models was introduced earlier this month.\n\nOpenAI’s dramatic price cuts instantly propelled GPT-5.6 Luna into the “most attractive” tier in intelligence-per-dollar rankings by research firm Artificial Analysis, placing it above Chinese rivals such as Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2 and MiniMax’s M3.\n\nThe move highlights mounting pressure on Western technology giants as open-weight and accessible Chinese alternatives win over international developers with aggressive pricing and rapidly improving capabilities.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3362568/openai-blinks-face-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-some-models-80?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-07-31 11:00:25+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-31 11:07:02.553075+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Sam Altman", "GPT-5.6 Luna", "GPT-5.6 Terra", "GPT-5.6 Sol", "Artificial Analysis", "Zhipu AI", "MiniMax"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-blinks-in-face-off-with-chinese-rivals-drops-pricing-for-some-models-up.jsonld"}}