A new METR report says Anthropic's internal AI model development has sped up roughly 1.9 times since October 2025, and attributes the acceleration largely to the company's extensive use of AI in its own research and development.
Since October 2025 · Anthropic internal R&D
Anthropic's internal model development has sped up about 1.9×, which the report links to heavy use of AI in its own research
The report ties the acceleration to AI tools helping build the next generation of models, a feedback loop that is hard to measure from outside. The figure's baseline and method are not fully spelled out yet.
1.9×
Estimated increase in the pace of internal model development
Oct 2025
Starting point of the reported trend
Broad
Use of AI tools across the company's R&D work
Development pace, relative to baseline
Column height is proportional to the multiplier. The baseline metric is not specified in the summary.
Takeaway: the post-October 2025 pace is nearly double the baseline, a gap large enough to matter if the figure holds up under scrutiny.
The feedback loop the report describes
Better models
→
AI used in R&D
→
Faster iteration
→
Even better models
Reading the number with care
A single multiplier depends on its baseline, its metric, and its time window.
The baseline and speed metric are not fully described in the available summary.
It is unclear how much of the gain comes from AI-assisted coding and experiments versus staffing, compute, or process changes.
A chart places Opus 5.5 within the trend, but how its categories were defined is not explained.
What supports the claim
If the 1.9× figure holds, AI-assisted research would show measurable gains in model iteration speed, not just in isolated tasks.
What remains open
Whether other labs show similar gains, and whether future updates confirm a sustained trend or an early phase of rapid change.
Continue reading The rest of this article is for AI News Blitz readers. Choose an option below to keep reading.
Already purchased? Sign in ✓ Signed in — this article isn’t included in your current plan.Unlocking the full article...