What AI coding agents really cost, which local LLMs are worth running, and what the benchmarks actually mean. Source-backed analysis for builders, no hype.https://capitalandcompute.net/enhttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/iphone-18-price-hike-memory-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/iphone-18-price-hike-memory-cost/iPhone 18 Pro could start at $1,249 to $1,299 as phone memory costs nearly quadruple. The BOM math, the margin squeeze, and the buy-or-wait call.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTmemorysmartphonespricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/pc-parts-to-buy-now-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/pc-parts-to-buy-now-2026/DDR5 kits are up 571 percent and NVMe drives 114 percent, yet one entry GPU still sells under list. The 7 parts to buy now, and the 3 to wait on.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThardwareeconomicsmemorypricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-local-models-for-hermes-agent/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-local-models-for-hermes-agent/Hermes Agent rejects any model under 64,000 tokens of context. Which open-weight models clear that bar on 8GB, 16GB, 24GB and 32GB of VRAM.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentshermes agentlocal llmopen sourceCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-6-astra-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-6-astra-pricing-benchmarks/GPT-6 Astra lists $10 and $50 per million tokens, 2.5x GPT-5.6 Sol. On Terminal-Bench it still solves a task for half of what Claude Fable 5.1 costs.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingbenchmarkseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hermes-agent-vs-vellum/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hermes-agent-vs-vellum/Vellum ranks itself first among Hermes Agent alternatives. A third-party read of the two, with four claims on that page checked against the docs.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentshermes agentcomparisonopen sourceCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gemini-3-8-flash-muse-spark-1-3-pricing/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gemini-3-8-flash-muse-spark-1-3-pricing/Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 per million input tokens until December 31, then doubles. Muse Spark 1.3 is $1.25, or $0.10 if Meta can train on you.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-1-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-1-pricing-benchmarks/Claude Fable 5.1 holds Fable 5 rates at $10/$50 per million tokens and cuts the cache read to $0.25. Benchmarks, specs, and modeled cost per task.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-september-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-september-2026/Every AI model released in September 2026, with dates, verified per-token prices and a primary source for each. Updated through the month as releases land.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hetzner-price-increase-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hetzner-price-increase-2026/Hetzner raised prices three times in 2026. Here are the derived percentages per plan from its own price table, and why Arm plans barely moved.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThostingeconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ovhcloud-price-increase-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ovhcloud-price-increase-2026/OVHcloud raised prices twice in 2026. Why the widely quoted 9 to 11 percent and the 87 percent figure are different events, and what hits at renewal.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThostingeconomicsaiCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-my-vps-price-going-up/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-my-vps-price-going-up/Hetzner and OVHcloud raised VPS prices repeatedly in 2026. Here is the memory-cost mechanism behind it, and what it actually means at renewal.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThostingeconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-coding-agent-token-usage/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-coding-agent-token-usage/Independent measurement of eight frontier models: GPT-5 averages 2.38 file reads per task, Kimi-K2 averages 15.27, and neither can predict its own bill.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicscoding-agentsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/anti-slop-ai-skills/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/anti-slop-ai-skills/Your AI output reads generic. Match the fix to the problem: prose skills, design skills, offline linters and gates that block slop before merge.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsdesignCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/muse-spark-1-2-pricing-cost-per-task/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/muse-spark-1-2-pricing-cost-per-task/Muse Spark 1.2 at $1.25/$4.25 adds a $0.10/$0.20 contributor tier. Cost per task vs Claude Opus 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol, and what the data-for-discount really buys.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsbenchmarkscoding-agentsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/terminal-bench-4-0/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/terminal-bench-4-0/Terminal-Bench 4.0 now runs 18 entries and GPT-6 Astra leads at 58.2 percent. Derived cost per solved task runs from 6 to 234 dollars, a 38x spread.Sat, 29 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/glm-5-3-flash-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/glm-5-3-flash-pricing-benchmarks/GLM-5.3-Flash is Ox Alpha, officially: a 320B-A18B MoE model, 1M-token context, MIT license, and $0.15/$0.50 per million tokens. Specs, pricing, and benchmarks.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingcodingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/chatgpt-business-premium-seats-pricing/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/chatgpt-business-premium-seats-pricing/OpenAI priced ChatGPT Business Premium exactly like Anthropic Claude Team Premium, but the 2-seat minimum pushes the real floor to $120, not $100.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingenterprise-aieconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-jalapeno-inference-chip/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-jalapeno-inference-chip/OpenAI posted first Jalapeño benchmarks: up to 1.9x more throughput per kilowatt than Nvidia. Real numbers, plus the caveats the headlines are skipping.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwareeconomicsinfrastructureCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/codistry-vs-claude-code-token-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/codistry-vs-claude-code-token-cost/Adronite claims Codistry costs 48% less than Claude Code per task. We checked the math in its own benchmark data: arithmetic holds, but three caveats matter.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/mac-mini-m6-local-llm/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/mac-mini-m6-local-llm/Apple refreshed the Mac mini and Mac Studio on August 25 2026. Every memory ceiling stayed flat, and bandwidth became a paid upgrade.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTailocal-llmshardwareeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/plaud-note-worth-it-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/plaud-note-worth-it-cost/The Plaud Note costs $159 plus a subscription to do anything useful. What it really costs per transcribed hour, who pays too much, and when to skip it.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaitoolspricingeconomicsproductivityCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-cost-per-month/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-cost-per-month/Five meters bill AI agents: per-seat, per-token, per-conversation, per-action and per-minute. The same agent runs 2 to 1,339 dollars a month.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingagentsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ox-alpha-stealth-model-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ox-alpha-stealth-model-explained/Ox Alpha lists $0 input and $0 output on OpenRouter and moves about 100 trillion tokens a day. Two data policies and an anonymous counterparty are the catch.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicodingpricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/personal-ai-agent-cost-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/personal-ai-agent-cost-2026/OpenClaw and Hermes Agent are free to download. Running one is not: hosting, tokens, and your time put a real personal agent at $10-300 a month.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-27b-local-economics/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-27b-local-economics/Apache 2.0 weights for Qwen3.8-27B landed on August 14, 2026. Strong vendor scores, hosted tokens at 80 percent off the flagship, and a catch in the local math.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTqwenopen-weightslocal-llmai-costsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepseek-harness/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepseek-harness/DeepSeek open sourced its agent harness under MIT on August 13, then repriced the API three days later. What it does and what it costs to run.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsdeepseekopen-sourcepricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-ymtc/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-ymtc/YMTC now ships more NAND bits than Micron or Kioxia but ranks only fifth by revenue. What that gap means for flash prices in 2026 and 2027.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwarechinaCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-are-ssds-so-expensive/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-are-ssds-so-expensive/NAND contract prices ran 70 to 75 percent in a single quarter and a 2TB drive doubled. What drove it, and why the surge is already slowing.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-1-leak-release-date/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-1-leak-release-date/Anthropic has published nothing on Fable 5.1. Four leaked claims, two X threads and one gray-scale sighting, graded against the primary sources.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelspricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-4-6-agent-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-4-6-agent-cost/Grok 4.6 kept the $2 and $6 headline but raised cached input 67 percent, and doubles every rate past 200K tokens. What that does to an agent bill.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicscoding-agentsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-capex-buildout-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-capex-buildout-2026/Samsung, SK hynix and Micron reversed course and committed about 2 trillion dollars to new memory fabs. The first wafers arrive in December 2028.Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/state-of-ai-programming-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/state-of-ai-programming-2026/AI writes 42 percent of committed code, yet the measured productivity gain stays contested. A sourced survey of the tools, techniques and evidence.Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-ai-changes-about-the-professional-profile/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-ai-changes-about-the-professional-profile/Three studies measured AI at work and disagreed: 40 percent faster writing, 14 percent more support tickets, 19 percent slower coding.Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiproductivityhiringCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-august-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-august-2026/Every new AI model released in August 2026 with dates, verified per-token prices and primary sources, plus the price changes that landed alongside them.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-data-center-stocks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-data-center-stocks/Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta spent about $198B in the first half of 2026 and Nvidia booked $75.2B in a quarter. Who is funding the rest with debt.Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiinfrastructuredata-centerseconomicscapexCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-bot-pricing-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-bot-pricing-explained/Grok Bot needs a $120, $200 or $300 per month plan while Claude Cowork ships from $20. What the seat price buys and where it breaks even.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingeconomicstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-opus-vs-sonnet/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-opus-vs-sonnet/Claude Opus 5 is stronger, but Sonnet 5 costs 40% less at standard rates. Compare coding, reasoning, speed, context, and when upgrading to Opus pays off.Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingmodelsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/uber-walmart-ai-token-caps/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/uber-walmart-ai-token-caps/Uber and Walmart capped employee AI use after costs surged. Learn what token budgets reveal and how enterprises can measure AI spend, value, and ROI.Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaienterprise-aipricingcost-optimizationai-finopsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ex-openai-anthropic-startups-funding/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ex-openai-anthropic-startups-funding/OpenAI and Anthropic alumni raised billions in pre-product seeds in 2026. Verified funding for every spinout, and what the money is buying.Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicsfundingstartupsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-max-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-max-benchmarks/Artificial Analysis scored Qwen3.8 Max at 58 on its Intelligence Index. The token price fell 20 percent but the cost to run the same eval rose 64 percent.Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelsqwenalibababenchmarksopen-weightsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/prime-agent-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/prime-agent-explained/Prime Intellect reports 95.5% on ARC-AGI-3. The ARC-verified ceiling on that same set is 30.2%. What the harness costs in tokens, and what the gap measures.Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentsharness engineeringopen sourcebenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepseek-v4-flash/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepseek-v4-flash/DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 scores 50 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at $0.14 per million input tokens, ahead of the pricier V4 Pro at 44.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaideepseekpricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-local-llms-fail-agentic-coding/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-local-llms-fail-agentic-coding/Identical open weights score 67.8 or 90.0 on SWE-bench depending on the harness. What the research says about where local coding agents break.Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentslocal-llmsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpu-prices-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpu-prices-2026/Nvidia RTX cards are up 20 to 30 percent in a third 2026 hike. Here is the memory-cost chain behind it, and whether to buy a GPU now or wait.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThardwareeconomicsaiCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cxmt-stock-price-ipo/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cxmt-stock-price-ipo/CXMT closed 466 percent above its offer price on debut, worth 3.28 trillion yuan. What that valuation implies about the DRAM shortage.Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwarechinaCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-opus-5-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-opus-5-pricing-benchmarks/Claude Opus 5 ships at $5/$25 per million tokens with an effort dial, matching Fable 5 intelligence at half the price. Benchmarks, specs, and cost per task.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-skills-vs-agent-skills-mcp-prompts/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-skills-vs-agent-skills-mcp-prompts/The four ways to extend an AI coding agent: what a Claude Skill, an agent skill, an MCP server and a prompt library each change, and when to use which.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/llm-evaluation-metrics/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/llm-evaluation-metrics/A practitioner guide to LLM evaluation metrics: reference-based scores, LLM-as-judge, and human review, ranked by accuracy and cost per 10,000 responses.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-shortage-2027-forecast/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-shortage-2027-forecast/SK hynix says 2027 will be the worst supply year ever for memory and ADATA expects a decade-long shortage. Here is how long the RAM squeeze may last.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-an-ai-data-center/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-an-ai-data-center/An AI data center explained: how it differs from a traditional data center, what it costs per megawatt, and why power is the binding constraint.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiinfrastructuredata-centerspowereconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/will-us-ban-chinese-ai-models/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/will-us-ban-chinese-ai-models/Nearly 200 startups urged Trump not to restrict Chinese open-weight AI. Here is what a ban would target, why enforcement is hard, and the stakes.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaichinaopen-sourcepolicyeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-agent-hugging-face-breach/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-agent-hugging-face-breach/During an internal cyber evaluation, an OpenAI agent broke out of its sandbox through a zero-day and breached Hugging Face. Here is what it means.Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisecuritycoding-agentsbenchmarkssafetyCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-desktop-guide/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-desktop-guide/Learn Claude Code Desktop efficiently: setup, permissions, parallel sessions, worktrees, previews, diff review, CLAUDE.md, security, and when to use the CLI.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsproductivityCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-max-preview/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/qwen-3-8-max-preview/Qwen3.8 Max Preview is live through the Alibaba Token Plan and Qoder. Here is what is confirmed about access, benchmarks, open weights, and the 2.4T claim.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelsqwenalibabaopen-weightsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/when-will-chinese-ai-models-surpass-us/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/when-will-chinese-ai-models-surpass-us/Chinese AI models already lead on price and open weights. A six-part scorecard shows why broad leadership is plausible by 2028–2030, but not inevitable.Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaichinaforecastllmsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-ai-visibility-tools/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-ai-visibility-tools/Compare the real monthly cost of tracking your brand across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews, plus how to choose the right tool.Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisearchseoaeogeoCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/china-ai-pricing/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/china-ai-pricing/Current 2026 API and subscription prices for DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, GLM, and MiniMax, compared per million tokens and against US models.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaichinapricingdeepseekopen-sourceCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cost-per-token-over-time/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cost-per-token-over-time/How AI cost per token fell roughly 10x per year since 2021, why it collapsed, and why your per-task bill did not drop nearly as fast.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/moonshot-ai-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/moonshot-ai-explained/Moonshot AI, the Chinese lab behind Kimi, is founder-led by Yang Zhilin, with Alibaba its largest backer and a reported 20 billion dollar valuation.Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaichinaeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/inkling-thinking-machines-launch/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/inkling-thinking-machines-launch/Thinking Machines released Inkling, a 975B open-weight model under Apache 2.0. Full pricing, benchmarks against GLM-5.2 and DeepSeek V4, and the verdict.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodels-benchmarksopen-weightCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openrouter-ai/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openrouter-ai/OpenRouter AI gives developers one API for 400+ models. See its real fees, privacy controls, pros, cons, and when going direct costs less.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTopenrouterai apillm gatewayai pricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-does-coreweave-do/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-does-coreweave-do/What does CoreWeave do? See how its GPU cloud works, who uses it, how it makes money, its NVIDIA relationship, and the risks behind its rapid growth.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTcoreweavegpu cloudai infrastructurenvidiacloud computingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-cxmt/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-is-cxmt/CXMT is the largest DRAM maker in China, now the number four global supplier, closing in on Micron on capacity while its HBM chips stay years behind.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwarechinaCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-data-center-financing-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-data-center-financing-2026/How AI infrastructure gets financed in 2026: Helix (KKR/Nvidia), Apollo/Blackstone (Anthropic), Stargate (OpenAI), and what this means for model pricing.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiinfrastructurefinancingeconomicsdata-centersCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-open-weight-ai-models-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-open-weight-ai-models-2026/The best open-weight AI models in 2026, ranked by use case: coding, long context, multimodal, on-device, and the real cost per finished task.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicodingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/github-pricing-plans-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/github-pricing-plans-cost/GitHub pricing starts at $0. Compare Free, Pro, Team, and Enterprise costs, included usage, add-on fees, and which plan fits your team in 2026.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTdeveloper-toolspricingeconomicsgithubCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/how-to-save-money-on-ram-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/how-to-save-money-on-ram-2026/RAM prices roughly tripled in 2026. Here are 7 ways to save money buying memory: right-size capacity, buy used, find bundle deals, time the market, and more.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/kimi-k3-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/kimi-k3-explained/Kimi K3 lists $3.00 input, $15.00 output and $0.30 cached per million tokens: closed-frontier pricing on an open-weight model. Who should skip it.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicodingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/matei-zaharia/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/matei-zaharia/Who is Matei Zaharia? The Apache Spark creator and Databricks co-founder also helped build MLflow. Here is how his work shaped modern data and AI systems.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTmatei-zahariaapache-sparkdatabricksopen-sourceCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-hardware-bet-economics/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/openai-hardware-bet-economics/OpenAI is spending nearly 6.5 billion dollars to build a screenless AI smart speaker. The business logic, the running costs, and the Apple lawsuit risk.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwareeconomicsopenaiCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-my-ai-api-bill-so-high/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-my-ai-api-bill-so-high/Unexpected OpenAI or Claude API bill? Trace the cost to context growth, cache misses, reasoning tokens, tool calls, retries, or a runaway agent.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiapipricingcost-optimizationdevelopersCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-cycle-peaking-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-cycle-peaking-2026/Consumer DDR5 has gone flat while contract and HBM prices keep climbing. Here are the signals that show whether the 2026 memory cycle is peaking.Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/build-vs-buy-agent-harness/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/build-vs-buy-agent-harness/Should you build your own AI agent harness or adopt Claude Code and Codex? A cost and control decision guide: adopt, extend, or build.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentsharness engineeringbuild vs buyclaude codeCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/dbos-durable-execution-agent-harness/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/dbos-durable-execution-agent-harness/DBOS is an open-source durable execution library that keeps AI agent harnesses running through crashes, restarts, and deploys. What it is and when to use it.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsinfrastructureopen-sourceCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/harbor-index-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/harbor-index-explained/Harbor-Index is a new AI agent benchmark where no model scores above 30 percent. How its 82 tasks were built, what the leaderboard costs, and why it matters.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-vs-claude-opus-4-8-vs-fable-5/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-vs-claude-opus-4-8-vs-fable-5/OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna versus Anthropic Claude Opus 4.8 and Fable 5: price, benchmarks and which model to pick in 2026.Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-shortage-2026-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/memory-shortage-2026-explained/The 2026 memory shortage explained: why AI and HBM demand starved consumer DRAM, how high prices have climbed, and when the RAM shortage is likely to end.Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-it-costs-to-train-ai-models-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/what-it-costs-to-train-ai-models-2026/Training a frontier model costs $1B+. Breakdown of compute, energy, data, and R&D costs across the three leading labs, and what they mean for API prices.Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicstraininginfrastructureCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-agentic-workflows/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-agentic-workflows/Six repeatable Claude Code workflows for planning, subagent research, parallel worktrees, verification, and slash-command pipelines, with when to use each.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-july-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-ai-models-july-2026/Every new AI model released in July 2026 with dates, per-token prices and primary sources, plus the announced models still ahead on the release timeline.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-cursor-alternatives-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-cursor-alternatives-2026/Cursor got pricier and its owner changed. Compare the best 2026 alternatives ranked by real cost per task, not sticker price.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingtoolseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-sol-coding-leaderboard-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-sol-coding-leaderboard-cost/GPT-5.6 Sol leads the Artificial Analysis coding leaderboard, and since the August 21 price cut to $4/$20 it does so at a third of Fable 5 per-token cost.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsbenchmarkspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/meta-muse-spark-1-1/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/meta-muse-spark-1-1/Meta launched Muse Spark 1.1 at 1.25 and 4.25 dollars per million tokens to chase Anthropic and OpenAI. Pricing, benchmarks, and the honest verdict.Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsbenchmarkspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-4-5-cost-per-task/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/grok-4-5-cost-per-task/Grok 4.5 launched July 8 at $2 and $6 per million tokens with a 4.2x token-efficiency claim. Does it really cost less per task than Claude Opus 4.8?Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicscoding-agentsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-search-disruption-economics/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-search-disruption-economics/68% of searches end without a click. AI Overviews cut publisher traffic 40%. What replaces the click economy in the citation era.Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisearcheconomicsseoaeomonetizationCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/opencode-vs-claude-code-vs-openclaude/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/opencode-vs-claude-code-vs-openclaude/Only one of these three coding agents shows up on a benchmark leaderboard. The Terminal-Bench 2.1 numbers, the missing scores, and how to choose.Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsbenchmarksopen-sourcepricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/publisher-revenue-playbook-ai-search-era/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/publisher-revenue-playbook-ai-search-era/AI Overviews cut publisher clicks 40%. Six revenue strategies publishers are deploying now, from per-query monetization to session-level optimization.Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaisearchmonetizationpublishingseoaeoCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-models-for-hermes-agent/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-models-for-hermes-agent/Hermes Agent still defaults to GLM-5.2. Verified September 2026 prices and coding scores show a model at a ninth of the cost now scoring higher.Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentshermes agentai model comparisoncost per taskCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hermes-agent-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hermes-agent-explained/What Hermes Agent is in 2026: an MIT-licensed agent with a learning loop, 300-plus models and a v0.21.0 provider wave. Why the harness beats the model.Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTai agentsharness engineeringopen sourcenous researchCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-production-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-production-cost/Published ranges for AI agent costs disagree by 10x. Here is the actual formula, modeled against real 2026 API rates, so you can price your own workload.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/state-of-ai-video-models-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/state-of-ai-video-models-2026/OpenAI is shutting Sora down while Chinese models top the independent video leaderboards on quality and cost. The state of AI video, July 2026.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaivideochinabenchmarkseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/agent-arena-leaderboard-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/agent-arena-leaderboard-explained/Arena, formerly LMArena, ranks AI agents from over a million real sessions using causal tracing, not style votes. How Agent Arena works and who leads.Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-are-chinese-ai-models-so-cheap/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-are-chinese-ai-models-so-cheap/Chinese AI models list output tokens up to 57x below US flagships. The verified economics of efficient training, cheap power and open weights as strategy.Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaichinaeconomicsopen-sourcepricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-mcp-servers/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/best-mcp-servers/Most MCP server lists are directory dumps. The tested consensus is five servers, a strict tool budget, and three catalogs worth bookmarking.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-harness-guide/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-harness-guide/A 2026 engineering guide to the Claude Code harness: CLAUDE.md, skills, hooks, subagents, MCP and plugins, with the context cost of each layer.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/harness-engineering-techniques-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/harness-engineering-techniques-2026/The named harness engineering techniques of 2026: ratchet rules, Ralph loops, spec-driven development and evaluator agents, with the cost of each.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-agentic-code-editors-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/new-agentic-code-editors-2026/ZCode, Antigravity 2.0, Grok Build, Warp, and Zed all changed in 2026. Here is what actually shipped in each new agentic code editor, and what it costs.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/benchmark-saturation-mmlu/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/benchmark-saturation-mmlu/Benchmark saturation is when top AI models bunch so close to the ceiling a test cannot rank them. Why MMLU hit this wall, and the harder replacement is next.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-returns-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-returns-pricing-benchmarks/Claude Fable 5 returns after a US export-control suspension. Here is the $10/$50 pricing, the SWE-Bench Pro and FrontierCode scores, and what it means.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-sonnet-5-pricing-benchmarks/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-sonnet-5-pricing-benchmarks/Claude Sonnet 5 ships at $3/$15 per million tokens, intro $2/$10 through August 2026. What changed versus Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.8, and the cost per task.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/kiro-pricing-explained-free-tier-credits/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/kiro-pricing-explained-free-tier-credits/Kiro gives a free tier of 50 credits and Pro at $20 a month for 1,000. What a credit actually buys, the Auto versus pinned-model savings, and how overage works.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/windsurf-devin-desktop-rebrand-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/windsurf-devin-desktop-rebrand-cost/Windsurf became Devin Desktop on June 2, 2026, pricing unchanged. Cascade retires today. The real cost shift is what got bundled into the same $20 plan.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hidden-cost-ai-generated-code/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/hidden-cost-ai-generated-code/Your Claude Code session cost $47 in tokens. The real cost was $470. This is the math your dashboard does not show.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/when-will-ram-prices-drop/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/when-will-ram-prices-drop/RAM prices are still climbing in late 2026, but the rate is slowing. Here is what each forecaster now says about 2027 and 2028, and whether to buy or wait.Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-cost-command-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-cost-command-explained/How to read the Claude Code /cost command: session spend, token breakdown, why Pro and Max differ from API billing, and when to use /usage instead.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cursor-pricing-limits-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cursor-pricing-limits-explained/What the $20 Cursor Pro plan really buys in 2026: roughly 225 to 650 requests depending on model, how the usage pool works, and when overages start.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingeconomicstoolsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepswe-vs-frontiercode/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/deepswe-vs-frontiercode/DeepSWE grades whether an AI finishes the task. FrontierCode grades whether you would merge its code. Why the same model scores 59% and 13%.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarkscoding-agentsevaluationCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/vibe-coding-cost-economics-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/vibe-coding-cost-economics-2026/Vibe coding tools cost $20-$100/month. The real cost including tokens, infrastructure, and technical debt runs $87-$340/month. Here is the math.Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicscoding-agentsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/did-openai-cut-ai-prices-gpt-5-6/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/did-openai-cut-ai-prices-gpt-5-6/OpenAI cut GPT-5.6 API prices on July 30: Luna by 80 percent, Terra by 20, Sol not at all. On August 21 the flagship followed with a promotional cut to $4/$20.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-sol-terra-luna-launch/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-sol-terra-luna-launch/OpenAI launched GPT-5.6 on June 26 as three tiers: Sol, Terra and Luna. Here are the confirmed prices, the benchmarks, and the government access catch.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelspricingCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/apple-price-hike-local-ai/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/apple-price-hike-local-ai/Apple raised Mac and iPad prices on June 25 2026 as the memory shortage bit. Here is what the unified-memory tax means for running local AI.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicslocal-llmshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-delayed-government-ai-release-gate/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-delayed-government-ai-release-gate/The Trump administration asked OpenAI to stagger GPT-5.6 and approve users one by one. A federal gate now sits between a finished AI model and the public.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/how-much-ram-to-run-a-local-llm/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/how-much-ram-to-run-a-local-llm/How much RAM a local LLM really needs: measured Q4_K_M file sizes, what 8GB to 512GB runs in 2026, and why long context can cost more than the weights.Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTailocal-llmshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-adoption-by-country-economics/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-adoption-by-country-economics/AI usage tracks national income, but the standouts break the rule. The economics of why Israel and Singapore use AI far more than their wealth predicts.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicsadoptionCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-benchmark-contamination-explained/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-benchmark-contamination-explained/Benchmark contamination is when test answers leak into training data and inflate AI scores. How it happens, how much it distorts results, and how to spot it.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationcontaminationCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-preview-leak-release-date/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-preview-leak-release-date/A leaked gpt-5.6-preview route lit up r/OpenAI, then GPT-5.6 launched June 26 as Sol, Terra and Luna in a government-gated preview. The signal vs the hype.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaimodelsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-ram-so-expensive-ai-memory-shortage/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/why-is-ram-so-expensive-ai-memory-shortage/RAM keeps getting pricier in 2026 because the memory giants profit more from scarcity than supply. Inside the most lucrative shortage in chip history.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicshardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/are-ai-benchmarks-reliable/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/are-ai-benchmarks-reliable/AI benchmark scores get gamed by contamination, saturation, and cheating. The 2026 receipts, the four failure modes, and how to read past any leaderboard.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaibenchmarksevaluationeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/china-ai-chip-companies-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/china-ai-chip-companies-2026/Seven Chinese firms ship AI accelerators and four listed publicly in six months. Which come near NVIDIA H100 class, which are hype, and what changed in 2026.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaihardwarechinaCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/spacex-cursor-acquisition-cost-and-alternatives/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/spacex-cursor-acquisition-cost-and-alternatives/SpaceX is buying Cursor for $60B. What changes for your bill, whether your code now trains xAI models, and the real cost per task of switching away.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/decentralized-gpu-cost-vs-cloud/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/decentralized-gpu-cost-vs-cloud/Is decentralized GPU compute (Akash, io.net, Render) cheaper than AWS? A grounded 2026 cost-per-hour comparison, plus the caveats the hype skips.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicryptogpuinfrastructureeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/self-hosted-llm-cost-per-token/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/self-hosted-llm-cost-per-token/What a self-hosted LLM token really costs in 2026: cost per token across owned hardware, why memory bandwidth sets speed, and where buying beats the API.Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicslocal-llmsgpuhardwareCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-vs-opus-4-8-cost-per-task/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-fable-5-vs-opus-4-8-cost-per-task/Claude Fable 5 costs exactly 2x Opus 4.8 per token: $10/$50 vs $5/$25. Whether it is cheaper per task depends on loop count, not the sticker rate.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-vs-codex-cost-capability/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-vs-codex-cost-capability/Codex leads Claude Code 83.4% to 78.9% on Terminal-Bench 2.1, but the prices match and the cheaper agent flips with your harness. The honest scorecard.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsbenchmarkspricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cursor-composer-2-5-real-cost/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/cursor-composer-2-5-real-cost/Composer 2.5 finishes a coding task for about $0.07, 10-60x under Claude Opus and GPT-5.5 at near-equal benchmark scores. What the cheap headline leaves out.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicscoding-agentsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/price-reversal-why-cheaper-ai-models-cost-more/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/price-reversal-why-cheaper-ai-models-cost-more/A 2026 Microsoft Research preprint found the cheaper-per-token AI model cost more to finish the job in 32% of model pairs. Why the sticker misleads.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsresearchCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-token-saving-tools-rtk-headroom-caveman/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-token-saving-tools-rtk-headroom-caveman/An independent replay of 500 Claude Code sessions found rtk, headroom, and caveman cut a $926 bill by just 3.7 percent. Here is why the 60-90% claims miss.Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-pricing-cost-per-task/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/gpt-5-6-pricing-cost-per-task/GPT-5.6 launched June 26 2026 as Sol, Terra and Luna. Sol held GPT-5.5 pricing at $5/$30 until an August 21 cut to $4/$20. Here is the real cost per task.Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaipricingeconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/open-source-llms-overtake-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/open-source-llms-overtake-2026/Token data from OpenRouter shows open-source LLMs passing proprietary models in mid-2026, a roughly 60/40 flip. The daily breakdown by AI lab.Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaiopen-sourcellmsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/local-llms-good-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/local-llms-good-2026/Open-weights LLMs crossed from toy to useful in 2026. What actually changed, and the cost math for when running a model yourself beats paying an API.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicslocal-llmsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/world-model-funding-wave-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/world-model-funding-wave-2026/Lin Junyang, Fei-Fei Li, and Yann LeCun are raising billions for world models in 2026. What a world model is, who is funding it, and why the money is moving.Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaieconomicsworld-modelsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-benchmarks-2026/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/ai-agent-benchmarks-2026/AI agent benchmarks broke in 2026: reward-hacked to 100%, SWE-bench Verified retired, scores swung by harness choice. What each measures and which to trust.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentsbenchmarksCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/github-copilot-pricing-ai-credits/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/github-copilot-pricing-ai-credits/GitHub Copilot switched to usage-based AI Credits on June 1, 2026. What the $10 Pro plan really costs once metering kicks in, and whether it is still worth it.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-pricing-cost-per-task/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/claude-code-pricing-cost-per-task/Claude Code plans run $20 to $200 a month, but the real number is cost per task. A modeled breakdown of token spend, where it wins, and where it burns money.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Computehttps://capitalandcompute.net/blog/the-2026-ai-coding-agent-landscape/https://capitalandcompute.net/blog/the-2026-ai-coding-agent-landscape/A grounded survey of the 2026 AI coding agent field: Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex and Antigravity, by interface, cost, and why the harness matters.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaicoding-agentseconomicsCapital & Compute