Beating GPT-5.6 Sol on retrieval with 100x cheaper open models
THE SO WHAT
If Neon and Castform can beat a frontier model like GPT-5.6 Sol on retrieval using much cheaper open models, the economic argument for "just call the biggest model" weakens further. For any retrieval-heavy product, you should be benchmarking open stacks against your current frontier spend — and designing architectures that can swap components as price/performance curves move.
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