Trump administration

OpenAI has released its latest advanced model, Sol, for public access after government review, but researchers and industry figures say the approval process remains opaque. The model is considered comparable to Anthropic's Fable, which was briefly banned from public access, yet details of how either model received clearance are unclear.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has cleared OpenAI to proceed with a broad release of GPT-5.6, according to an Axios report citing a source familiar with the matter. The White House disputed the claim, telling CNBC it did not give OpenAI "green light, approval or clearance" and that release decisions "rest entirely with the companies."

The Trump administration is close to allowing Anthropic to restore access to its Fable 5 model, which has been offline for 15 days due to national security concerns. Insiders expect restrictions could be lifted as soon as next week, though Pentagon and NSA approval is still required.

OpenAI released its GPT-5.6 model lineup to a limited group of "trusted partners" after the U.S. government requested restrictions on the rollout. The company released three models—Sol ($5/$30 per million tokens), Terra ($2.50/$15), and Luna ($1/$6)—but said the government-mandated preview "shouldn't become the long-term default."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees the company will release GPT-5.6 in limited preview form only, with the Trump administration approving customer access on a case-by-case basis. The move follows stricter export controls imposed on Anthropic earlier this month.