The U.S. Department of Commerce has approved a broad rollout of OpenAI’s advanced GPT-5.6 model, according to a report by Axios. The company expects to launch the model this week following additional testing and meetings with government officials. OpenAI, the White House, and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
OpenAI had delayed the full public launch of GPT-5.6 last month at the U.S. government’s request, initially limiting access to a small group of vetted partners. The model will now be released in three variants: Sol (flagship, with enhanced agentic abilities in coding, biology, and cybersecurity), Terra (optimized for everyday work), and Luna (focused on speed and affordability).
The approval comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of AI models. Last month, the Trump administration imposed export controls on Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos models, citing risks of misuse by adversaries. Those restrictions were lifted last week. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI announced plans to release its Grok 4.5 model, emphasizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Chinese AI firms are capitalizing on U.S. regulatory delays, with Zhipu’s GLM 5.2 model now available for free download and enterprise use. The U.S. government’s cautious approach to AI regulation is creating opportunities for foreign competitors to gain market share.