OpenAI is reportedly set to launch its most advanced AI model yet, GPT-5.6, on Thursday after a delay prompted by U.S. government security concerns. The company is expected to release three variants of the model: GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.6 Terra, and GPT-5.6 Luna.
Last month, OpenAI decided to limit the initial release of its latest AI model GPT-5.6 to a small group of trusted partners rather than making it immediately available to the public at the Trump administration’s request. CEO Sam Altman had said the government would be “approving access customer by customer” during the preview period.
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“We’ve made clear to the U.S. government that this is not our preferred long-term model, and will work with them and others in industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases,” Altman said in a memo, according to The Information. A White House official told CNN they continue “to collaborate with frontier AI labs to develop shared approaches for addressing the challenges of scaling this technology.”
According to Axios, the Trump administration had approved a broad launch of GPT-5.6 following additional testing and meetings between the company and government officials. Washington has been increasing its scrutiny over AI models because of concerns the technology could be misused by the military or the intelligence establishment in China, Russia and other countries. This comes amid increasing competition with China in the AI race.
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The public launch of GPT-5.6 comes after OpenAI’s rival Anthropic restored access to its Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models following a dispute with the government. Anthropic had to disable access to the models to comply with an export control directive, which the U.S. Department of Commerce lifted it late last month. Elon Musk’s AI company, which also competes with OpenAI and Anthropic, is also planning to make its leading model Grok 4.5 available to the public.
OpenAI said in June that it’s working with the government to help establish a framework for such assessments and to develop a “repeatable process for future model releases.” The company said that GPT-5.6 Sol is its “strongest model yet,” according to a blog post, and that it is more capable across coding, biology and cybersecurity.
OpenAI said in a post on X late Tuesday that it is expanding preview access to the GPT-5.6 models globally.