SAN FRANCISCO, United States – OpenAI will release its latest artificial intelligence model series to the public on Thursday following reported approval from the United States government for a broader launch.
Okay News reports that OpenAI announced the global expansion of its GPT-5.6 models through a post on X on Tuesday. The new series includes three tiers, featuring the flagship model Sol, a mid-range version named Terra, and a low-cost option called Luna.
“GPT-5.6 Sol, along with Terra and Luna, will launch publicly this Thursday. We’re expanding preview access globally now,” OpenAI said. Axios reported that the administration of President Donald Trump authorized the broad release following technical testing and meetings between company representatives and government officials.
The government previously raised national security concerns regarding the capacity of new artificial intelligence models, including the Mythos series by Anthropic, to identify exploitable weaknesses in computer code. OpenAI provided restricted preview access of GPT-5.6 to a limited group of trusted partners based in the United States in late June at the request of officials in Washington.
In June, OpenAI said that “we don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default” as it “keeps the best tools” from users, businesses and others who need them. The company added that it was working with Washington “to develop the cyber Executive Order framework and a repeatable process for future model releases.”
The White House is currently drafting criteria to determine which artificial intelligence models will fall under new security restrictions. Anthropic began restoring public access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models last week after restrictions were lifted.
Once broadly available, Terra will be priced at half the cost of its predecessor, GPT-5.5. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have filed confidential initial public offering documents with US regulators, targeting public listings at valuations approaching $1 trillion.
