Openai To Release Its Most Powerful Model After Weekslong Hold

OpenAI will release its powerful GPT-5.6 models to the public Thursday, ending a voluntary hold over the Trump administration’s fears about its capabilities to boost cyberattacks.

The company announced late Tuesday that its models, called Luna, Sol and Terra, will be available globally on Thursday. The Trump administration had asked the company to stagger its release of the model late last month given its advanced capabilities. OpenAI, in compliance with the administration, initially offered the model to a small group of partners shared with the government.

The White House last week lifted sweeping export controls on Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5, diffusing two weeks of drama and uncertainty over how to govern the cutting-edge models.

But the unpredictability of how, and when, the administration would apply export controls has roiled the industry, despite a June 12 executive order from President Donald Trump that established a voluntary vetting process for AI models.

OpenAI said in a June 26 press release that it would comply with the administration’s request for a staggered release to ensure the model can be distributed widely in the coming weeks, but it added that “we don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default.”

“We are taking this short-term step because we believe it is the strongest path to broader availability in the coming weeks, while we work with the Administration to develop the cyber Executive Order framework and a repeatable process for future model releases,” the company wrote.