The Frontier AI Race Is No Longer a Two-Horse Show. Five Labs Are Trading the Lead, and That Is the Best News for Everyone Not Building a Model.

With xAI's Grok and Meta clawing back into contention against OpenAI, Google and Anthropic, and new models shipping within the same week, the frontier has become a genuine five-way fight. The capital is staggering and the capability is converging. For anyone building on these models rather than making them, a crowded race is a gift.