OpenAI's GPT-5.6 finally set for public release after delays

OpenAI will launch its "strongest model yet" this week, with GPT-5.6 Sol set for public release after White House-imposed delays.

Announced by the company on X on Wednesday, the next generation flagship model will roll out gradually from July 9, alongside two lighter models: the "everyday" Terra and lower cost Luna.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In a blog post, OpenAI says it spent weeks putting GPT‑5.6 Sol through its paces for weaknesses, during which time it "strengthened protections for higher-risk activity, sensitive cyber requests, and repeated misuse." The company called it "our most capable model yet for cybersecurity" and claimed GPT‑5.6 Sol stands up to competitor Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5 using a third of output tokens (the blocks of text an AI model processes to generate responses).

The news comes after reports that the White House told OpenAI to limit the initial release of GPT-5.6 to a select testing group. In its blog post, the company described this as a "small group of trusted partners whose participation has been shared with the government." Now, OpenAI has the green light for GPT-5.6's public release. The announcement arrives a week after OpenAI reportedly proposed giving the U.S. government a five percent stake in the company, with CEO Sam Altman in early talks with President Donald Trump, according to the Financial Times.

Competitor Anthropic also experienced restraints from the U.S. government, with the White House ordering the company "to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States." Anthropic is now allowed to share Mythos 5 with "a set of U.S. organizations that operate and defend critical infrastructure," and Fable 5, a version of Mythos, is out globally.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.