SD Times News Roundup: Oct. 9, 2026 — OpenAI adds speed capabilities; Functionalize’s new MCP server; Lower SMB pricing for Java SE Universal Subscription
OpenAI launches Decisions API in public beta, Ultrafast for GPT-1
OpenAI this week rolled out new capabilities with the release to public beta of the Decisions API, as well another speed update with Ultrafast for GPT-1 Sol across the API, Codex, and ChatGPT Work on eligible plans.
GPT-6.1 Sol provides near-Astra intelligence for agentic coding, computer use, and professional work. Ultrafast delivers that intelligence up to 8x faster than Standard in Codex, meaning less waiting between coding, debugging, and testing ideas.
Building on the Decisions API beta, which speeds up the quick choices apps and agents make along the way, together his gives developers more ways to match intelligence, speed, and cost to the work, from quick decisions along the way to demanding reasoning tasks.
Decisions API Availability Details
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API pricing is $12 per million input tokens and $60 per million output tokens.
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In Codex and ChatGPT Work, access is available on Pro 500, eligible usage-based Enterprise, and credit-based Edu plans. Enterprise admins must enable access.
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Ultrafast for GPT-6.1 Sol is available in all supported regions, including support for data residency in the US and EU.
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We’ve also added support for EU data residency for GPT-6.1 Sol Fast and GPT-6 Luna Fast.
Decisions API pricing starts at $0.10 per million input tokens, with no output-token charges. We’re looking forward to learning more as developers use it in beta.
Read the Decisions API announcement and demo here. Learn more about Ultrafast here.
Functionize Brings App Context to Coding Agents with the New Functionize MCP Server
Functionize today released the Functionize MCP server, which connects Functionize Studio to the coding agents engineering teams already use.
Self-healing AI tests that adapt to your app
AI Test Generation Compare pricing & 6 other AI Test Generation →Coding agents know a codebase in detail, but they have never seen the application run, including: how it is supposed to behave, what the team counts as working, or what changed since the last release. Tests written by the same agent that wrote the code tend to confirm what the code says rather than what the change was meant to do.
Functionize Studio supplies that missing app context, and the MCP server lets the two agents share knowledge. The coding agent passes Studio the context, such as the requirement behind a change, the code it touched and where test coverage is thin. Studio combines that context with its own model of how the application behaves, is built and kept current across every run. Studio traces the change to the user flows it affects, tests those flows against the real app, and returns the result. This agent-to-agent exchange gives each agent context it could not get on its own, while the human in the loop still makes the ultimate call about what the change was meant to do and when an app will be released.
Tamas Cser, founder and CEO of Functionize, explained: “With MCP, the coding agent hands Studio the context behind every change. Studio verifies the affected user flows against the application and pinpoints the exact step where something broke. That shared context is what makes agent-to-agent work intelligent. Developers drive Studio from the tools they already use, and every change is checked against how the app is supposed to work, at the speed the code is being written.”
With the Functionize MCP server, teams get:
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Suites from a single prompt: A smoke or regression suite built and run by Studio.
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Results where the work happens: Status, step counts and the first failing step come back in the chat the developer already has open.
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Context from both sides: A coding agent can find thin coverage in a repository and pass it to Studio to plan new tests and trim regression runs.
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Tests that keep up with the app: When a page changes, Studio updates its picture of the page so tests keep running without rewritten selectors.
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Lower cost to verify: Studio runs on right-sized, expert models trained for testing, so building and running tests costs a fraction of what a general-purpose model spends.
The Functionize MCP server is available today to Functionize Studio customers and trial users. It works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code, and with any client that supports MCP. A Claude Code plugin adds skills that help the agent use Studio well. Find setup instructions and more at functionize.com/mcp.
New Lower SMB Pricing and Easier Online Purchasing of Java SE Universal Subscription
Oracle is announcing that simplified pricing and purchasing of the Java SE Universal Subscription for organizations with fewer than 3,000 employees is now available.
Autonomous database that manages itself
Distributed Databases Compare pricing & 1 other Distributed Databases →The objective is straightforward: make the benefits of the Java SE Universal Subscription more accessible to small and medium businesses through easy online purchasing and affordable annual pricing.
| Employees | New Annual Price (USD) |
| 10 or fewer | $100 |
| 100 or fewer | $1,000 |
| 500 or fewer | $10,000 |
| Per Additional Employee 501-2,999 | $147.20 (in addition to $10,000 for the first 500) |
| 3,000 Employees or more | Unchanged – see Enterprise Pricing |
Organizations with 500 or fewer employees can conveniently purchase directly online at the Oracle Store. Organizations with additional needs should contact Oracle Sales.
To learn more about the support, tools, and services included, visit Java SE Universal Subscription.
The post SD Times News Roundup: Oct. 9, 2026 — OpenAI adds speed capabilities; Functionalize’s new MCP server; Lower SMB pricing for Java SE Universal Subscription appeared first on SD Times.
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