OpenAI blinks in face-off with Chinese rivals, drops pricing for some models up to 80%

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.

OpenAI blinks in face-off with Chinese rivals, drops pricing for some models up to 80% Dramatic 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 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. In 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. API fees are what developers pay to integrate AI features directly into their own apps and services. The 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. The trio of models was introduced earlier this month. OpenAI’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. The 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.