Inception Labs
Frontier Labs · Free + paid
AI lab building Mercury, a diffusion-based language model family for fast reasoning and coding
At a glance
- Made by
- Inception
- Korean
- None (English and a few others only)
- API
- Yes
- Available on
- API
What is Inception Labs?
Inception builds and deploys Mercury, a next-generation large language model that works by diffusion. It generates tokens in parallel and advertises under 300ms to first token, 5–7x higher throughput, and up to 70% lower cost per task. It says output format and constraints can be controlled in fine detail. Mercury 2.5, Mercury Voice, and Mercury Router are available via API.
- Diffusion LLM (parallel token generation)
- Under 300ms to first token, 5–7x throughput
- Mercury 2.5 reasoning LLM
- Mercury Voice (for voice agents, TTFT under 170ms)
- Mercury Router (prompt classification and model routing)
- Output control that follows schema and semantic constraints
Who uses Inception Labs and for what
- Agents for coding and business workflow automation
- Real-time voice for customer support, translation, and more
- Code autocompletion and editing
Pricing
What you get for free — Yes (free trial wording, limits unclear)
| Plan | Price | Main limits |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury 2.5 | $0.2 | Input $0.20 per 1M tokens, output $0.75 |
| Mercury Voice | $0.4 | Input $0.40 per 1M tokens, output $1.50 |
| Mercury Router | Contact sales | Contact sales |
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying. · Official pricing page
AI tools similar to Inception Labs (alternatives)
Inception Labs vs. alternatives at a glance
| AI | Pricing | Combos on the map | Connected tools | Free | Cheapest monthly | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inception Labs | Free + paid | 0 | 5 | Yes | — | No |
| DeepSeek | Free | 77 | 25 | — | — | No |
| Anthropic | Free + paid | 0 | 25 | Yes | $17/mo | Yes |
| AI21 Labs | Free + paid | 0 | 25 | Yes | — | No |
| Cohere | Free + paid | 0 | 25 | Yes | — | Yes |
4 of these 5 tools have a free plan. Cheapest paid plan: Anthropic ($17/mo).
Combo and connection counts are based on the relationships recorded on AI Galaxy Map (2026-10-26); they are not a quality ranking.
Inception Labs on AI Galaxy Map
- One of 56 AI tools in the Frontier Labs field.
- Connected to 5 other tools — #16 in its field.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Inception Labs for free?
Yes (free trial wording, limits unclear). Prices can change, so check the official site before paying.
What AI can I use instead of Inception Labs?
Tools that do the same job, such as DeepSeek, Anthropic, AI21 Labs, Cohere, are connected to it on the map.
Can I use Inception Labs in Korean?
None (English and a few others only)
Sources (official pages)
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying.