Opera opened public access to its Neon AI browser on December 11, charging $19.90 monthly for early access to frontier AI models. The experimental browser targets power users willing to pay premium pricing for cutting-edge AI capabilities before mainstream adoption.
The Norway-based browser company removed Neon's waitlist after a two-month "Founders" phase that began in early October. Subscribers gain unified access to multiple top-tier AI models including GPT-5.1, Gemini 3 Pro, Veo 3.1, and Nano Banana Pro through a single $19.90 subscription.
Neon operates as an agentic browser rather than traditional web software. Its AI agents perform tasks autonomously, create content, build web applications, and conduct deep research instead of merely displaying web pages. The system includes specialized tools for booking trips, generating videos, editing documents, and running multi-step processes.
"Opera Neon is a product for people who like to be the first to the newest AI tech," said Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera. "It's a rapidly evolving project with significant updates released every week."
The subscription includes membership to an exclusive Discord community where users test features early, discuss development directly with Opera engineers, and influence the browser's roadmap. This community-driven approach follows the company's strategy of incorporating user feedback during the initial closed phase.
Opera faces substantial competition in the AI browser market. Perplexity's Comet and OpenAI's Atlas both launched as free alternatives, while Microsoft and Google continue embedding AI features deeper into Edge and Chrome. Amazon also recently launched Alexa+ web access at CES, bringing its generative AI assistant to browsers without requiring Echo hardware. The premium pricing positions Neon as a specialized tool rather than mass-market product.
Security concerns accompany the AI browser landscape. Gartner recently advised businesses to avoid using AI browsers due to potential data exposure and vulnerability to prompt injection attacks. Opera acknowledged these risks in an October security blog post, implementing prompt analysis functions while noting that "the risk of a successful prompt injection attack cannot be entirely reduced to zero."
The browser's development timeline shows rapid iteration. Early October builds introduced agentic tools including Neon Tasks, Cards, Chat, Do, and Make. November updates added Google's Gemini 3 Pro and Nano Banana Pro models, plus Google Docs integration and model selection within Neon Chat.
Opera Neon originally debuted as a concept browser in 2017 before the company revived the name for its AI-focused iteration. The current version represents Opera's testing ground for emerging AI technologies before they reach mainstream products like Opera One, Opera GX, and Opera Air.
The launch coincided with Opera's December 11 announcement of a $0.40 per share cash dividend, payable January 14, 2026 to shareholders of record January 7. The aggregate payment totals $35.9 million based on 89,648,056 outstanding shares.
Neon's feature set includes the ODRA deep research agent capable of gathering and synthesizing information with source citations. Its "1-minute research" mode delivers concise results on complex topics, while other agents handle autonomous website building, form completion, and multi-tab operations.
The browser's architecture separates it from Opera's free offerings. While main browsers continue providing AI features through Opera AI at no cost, Neon serves as a premium testing platform for users wanting raw, in-development capabilities before broader release.
Opera Neon is available for download at operaneon.com. The company maintains its position as a browser innovator serving hundreds of millions of users worldwide, with Neon representing its most aggressive push into agentic AI technology.
