Model Picker · History
Frontier Timeline
Replay every release that materially moved the intelligence–cost frontier · snapshot 2026-09-27
Method: a release's Impact is a tailored hypervolume indicator — the additional area of intelligence × log-cost space its day's Pareto frontier dominates beyond the frontier that preceded it, measured to a fixed reference point ($20,000, intelligence 0). Ground no earlier model offered at any price is bounded by that reference as a convention, and same-day releases partition their day's gain by ordered marginal contribution.
Models evaluated153dated + measurable, not the full dataset
Reached the frontier73at least once in the replay
Frontier now12models
Frontier
Open-weights frontier
Open weights
Proprietary
Small & faded = older
Entered this step
Displaced
Beaten frontier edge
Cheaper than before
New capability
Changed hands
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Press play, drag the slider, or step through the marks to replay the frontier.
Release impact one bar per release, in order · hover for details, click to jump there
Who pushed the intelligence/$ frontier?
Total impact per company in the selected window. Each bar stacks that company's models, biggest first; hover a segment for the model.
Heads-up: every model is scored with today's numbers (2026-09-27) and then placed on its release date. So this is a replay of release order with current data, not a record of what was measured back then. Hatched areas mark gains that nothing could match before at any price.