Wider release follows additional testing by government AI agency
OpenAI released its latest advanced AI model, ChatGPT 5.6, on Thursday, weeks after the Trump administration requested that the company delay the public rollout over cybersecurity concerns and limit access to a small group of government-approved users.
The company said in a blogpost that it had briefed government officials on ChatGPT 5.6’s capabilities and restricted the model to trusted partners at the administration’s behest. The wider release came after additional testing by the government’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, according to Axios.
ChatGPT 5.6, which includes a flagship product called Sol, is OpenAI’s answer to Anthropic’s Claude Fable and Mythos models, which rolled out to the public earlier this month after the Trump administration lifted restrictions on those models. OpenAI describes ChatGPT 5.6 as its safest and most capable model yet.
The Trump administration has largely spurned domestic calls for reining in the AI industry and encouraged companies to advance their models as quickly as possible, often citing an AI arms race with China and the need for U.S. dominance over technology. More recently, the threat of destabilizing, AI-driven cyberattacks has caused the White House to increase its intervention. Trump last month issued an executive order calling for a voluntary review process for AI firms to submit their latest models to the government for evaluation.
The staggered release of ChatGPT 5.6 follows similar restrictions on Anthropic’s latest AI models, also put in place by the Trump administration last month, which resulted in a temporary export ban on the products. OpenAI initially only gave access to its latest model to U.S. entities.
Both episodes have drawn attention to the cybersecurity risks associated with AI, tensions with U.S. allies over sharing breakthroughs, and questions over the U.S. government’s process for regulating the technology. The restrictions on access to the most advanced AI models have caused concern within industries that rely on the models to do business, as well as adversarial governments facing potential cybersecurity threats and allies that felt snubbed by the export ban.
Anthropic and OpenAI are jostling for the lead in the AI race ahead of their initial public offerings eyed for later this year. Anthropic announced a new round of funding in May that made it the world’s most valuable AI company at a valuation of $965 billion. OpenAI is reportedly seeking a valuation of $1 trillion for its own IPO, which the New York Times reported could be delayed until next year amid turmoil in the global tech market.