Anthropic Unveils Powerful Claude 4 AI Models

Anthropic launched two new AI models, Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, as part of its Claude 4 family. These models boast enhanced capabilities for analyzing large datasets, executing complex tasks, and improved coding performance.

Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4: Key Features

Both models are designed for demanding tasks, but Opus 4 offers superior performance. Sonnet 4 serves as a direct upgrade to Sonnet 3.7, improving coding, math, and instruction following. Anthropic emphasizes reduced "reward hacking" in the Claude 4 family, minimizing shortcuts and loopholes.

While Sonnet 4 is accessible to both free and paying users of Anthropic's chatbot apps, Opus 4 is exclusive to paying users. For API access via Amazon's Bedrock platform and Google's Vertex AI, Opus 4 is priced at $15/$75 per million tokens (input/output), while Sonnet 4 is priced at $3/$15 per million tokens (input/output). One million tokens are roughly equivalent to 750,000 words.

Enhanced Reasoning and Tool Use

Opus 4 excels at maintaining focus across multiple steps in a workflow. Both models offer a "reasoning mode" for deeper analysis, providing users with summaries of their thought processes. They can utilize multiple tools, like search engines, concurrently and store information in memory to enhance reliability and build "tacit knowledge."

Improved Coding with Claude Code

Anthropic has upgraded Claude Code, its agentic coding tool, to integrate with IDEs like VS Code and JetBrains, and platforms like GitHub. The new SDK allows developers to connect Claude Code with third-party applications, enhancing AI-powered coding assistance.

Benchmark Performance and Safety

Opus 4 outperforms competitors like Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro and OpenAI's o3 and GPT-4.1 on the SWE-bench Verified coding benchmark. However, it doesn't surpass o3 on MMMU or GPQA Diamond. Anthropic is releasing Opus 4 with stricter safeguards, including enhanced harmful content detectors and cybersecurity defenses, due to potential misuse concerns.

Anthropic's Growth Strategy

The launch of Claude 4 comes as Anthropic aims to significantly increase revenue. The company projects substantial earnings growth in the coming years, fueled by recent funding and a credit facility. Anthropic plans to deliver frequent model updates to maintain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Image Credits: Anthropic