25 releases.
Three and a half years.
Every Claude model and the product launches that changed how people actually use it, in plain English. Most teams are still working like it's 2024.
- Mar 2023Claude
Claude and Claude Instant
Anthropic's first public models, offered to businesses through the API in a full and a fast version. Source
- May 2023Product
100K context window
Context grew from 9K to 100K tokens, so Claude could read hundreds of pages at once. Source
- Jul 2023Claude
Claude 2 and claude.ai
A better model and the claude.ai chat site, launched as a public beta in the US and UK. Source
- Nov 2023Claude
Claude 2.1
A 200K-token context, fewer false statements, and early tool use and system prompts. Source
- Mar 2024Opus
Claude 3 Opus and Sonnet
The first tiered family, so buyers could trade price against capability. Claude could now read images. Source
- Mar 2024Haiku
Claude 3 Haiku
A fast, low-cost model for high-volume jobs like classification and support. Source
- Jun 2024Sonnet
Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Artifacts
A mid-priced model that beat Claude 3 Opus, plus Artifacts for documents and code beside the chat. Source
- Jun 2024Product
Projects
Group chats with shared documents and instructions, so a team stops re-explaining itself. Source
- Oct 2024Sonnet
Claude 3.5 Sonnet upgrade and computer use
Big coding gains at the same price, and a beta that let Claude operate a computer screen. Source
- Nov 2024Product
Model Context Protocol (MCP)
An open standard for connecting Claude to company tools and data. Source
- Feb 2025Sonnet
Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code preview
The first hybrid reasoning model, plus a preview of Claude Code for coding in the terminal. Source
- Mar 2025
- May 2025Opus
Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4, Claude Code GA
Models built for long agentic work, and Claude Code became generally available. Source
- Aug 2025
- Aug 2025Product
Claude in Chrome
An extension that lets Claude act in your browser, opened to all paid plans that December. Source
- Sep 2025
- Sep 2025
- Oct 2025
- Oct 2025Product
Agent Skills
Package repeatable workflows and company know-how as skills Claude loads when needed. Source
- Nov 2025Opus
Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude in Excel
The top Opus at a lower price, plus a beta add-in that puts Claude inside Excel. Source
- Jan 2026Product
Claude Cowork
A desktop agent for knowledge work on your own files, generally available in April. Source
- Feb 2026
- Feb 2026
- Apr 2026Mythos
Claude Mythos Preview
A restricted model shared only with security partners to find and fix software flaws. Source
- Apr 2026
- Apr 2026
- May 2026
- Jun 2026Fable
Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5
Fable 5 brought Mythos-class capability to general use. Mythos 5 stayed restricted to vetted partners. Source
- Jun 2026Sonnet
Claude Sonnet 5
Close to Opus 4.8 performance at Sonnet prices, and the default on Free and Pro. Source
- Jul 2026
- Sep 2026Fable
Claude Fable 5.1 and Mythos 5.1
Fable 5.1 on all platforms. Mythos 5.1 only for verified organizations. Source
- Sep 2026
- Sep 2026
- Oct 2026
The models moved fast. Your team's habits probably didn't.
A coach can walk your team from chat to Projects, connectors, Claude Code and agent teams, over video or in the room.
Dates are checked against Anthropic's announcements and release notes. Each entry links to its source. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. This page is independent and not affiliated with Anthropic.
Quick answers.
When was Claude first released?
Anthropic released Claude and Claude Instant on March 14, 2023, through its API for businesses. The claude.ai chat site followed with Claude 2 on July 11, 2023, as a public beta in the US and UK.
What is the latest Claude model?
As of October 2026, the newest releases are Claude Haiku 5.5 (October 7, 2026), Sonnet 5.5 (September 28, 2026) and Opus 5.5 (September 22, 2026), alongside Fable 5.1 and the restricted Mythos 5.1 from September 1, 2026.
When did Claude Code come out?
Claude Code launched as a limited preview alongside Claude 3.7 Sonnet on February 24, 2025, and became generally available with Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 on May 22, 2025.
What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
MCP is an open standard Anthropic introduced on November 25, 2024, for connecting Claude and other AI tools to company systems and data. Claude connectors to services like Google Drive, Slack and HubSpot are built on it.