# xAI launches Grok 4.5 specializing in coding, agents, and knowledge work

> xAI has released Grok 4.5, a model aimed squarely at coding, agentic workflows, and knowledge work, and priced to compete: $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens, notably below frontier rates. The positioning is explicit, undercutting premium models to win over cost-conscious developers and enterprise builders. The launch follows xAI's $20 billion Series E in January 2026 and comes as the combined xAI and SpaceX entity carries a reported $1.25 trillion valuation after their merger. xAI is pitching Grok 4.5 as a direct competitor to models like Claude Sonnet 5 on agentic tasks. The real trend here is price. As Chinese open-weight models and aggressive challengers push capable AI toward commodity pricing, even well-funded US labs are competing on cost per token, not just raw benchmark scores. For developers, that pressure is good news, turning capabilities that were premium a year ago into something closer to a utility.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: xAI · Published Friday, July 17, 2026_

## Wortins' read

xAI has released Grok 4.5, a model aimed squarely at coding, agentic workflows, and knowledge work, and priced to compete: $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens, notably below frontier rates. The positioning is explicit, undercutting premium models to win over cost-conscious developers and enterprise builders. The launch follows xAI's $20 billion Series E in January 2026 and comes as the combined xAI and SpaceX entity carries a reported $1.25 trillion valuation after their merger. xAI is pitching Grok 4.5 as a direct competitor to models like Claude Sonnet 5 on agentic tasks. The real trend here is price. As Chinese open-weight models and aggressive challengers push capable AI toward commodity pricing, even well-funded US labs are competing on cost per token, not just raw benchmark scores. For developers, that pressure is good news, turning capabilities that were premium a year ago into something closer to a utility.

## Source

[Read the full story at xAI](https://x.ai/news/series-e)

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