OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra: billed as its most intelligent and aligned model, API from $10/$50 per million tokens

Why it matters

【Official release】

OpenAI published “GPT-6 Astra: A new generation of intelligence” on 2026-09-03 (canonical: https://openai.com/index/gpt-6-astra/; OpenAI’s official RSS pubDate is 2026-09-03 11:00 GMT; the page eyebrow is day-level only). OpenAI calls GPT-6 Astra (GPT-6 family) “the world’s most intelligent and aligned model.” It rolled out on launch day to a limited set of organizations, with availability over the following days for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users and through the OpenAI API, Microsoft Azure and AWS Bedrock. The page was updated on 2026-09-22 to note the GPT-6 family’s expansion with GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna.

【Verifiable points】

API id: gpt-6-astra. API standard pricing is $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, with separate cache read/write rates; Fast mode offers up to 2x speed at 2x the standard price. Astra usage is included in existing subscription allowances, with credits available for extra usage; Pro, Business and Enterprise plans also get GPT-6 Astra Pro; Enterprise access is off by default and must be enabled by admins; Zero Data Retention is supported for eligible API customers. OpenAI says Astra meets the Critical threshold in cybersecurity under its Preparedness Framework (the same-day safety overview calls it OpenAI’s first model to reach that level); the launch version refuses advanced cyber tasks such as writing proof-of-concept exploits, and OpenAI is deploying misalignment monitoring in production. Safety details are in the same-day safety overview (https://openai.com/index/safety-overview-gpt-6-astra/). Official self-reported results on the page include ARC-AGI-3 99.9%, ExploitBench 100%, and FrontierMath Tier 4 at 98% in the text (97.6% in the table); these are vendor-run and not compared across vendors here.

【Our take】

Backfill of the official launch page: the site already carries media coverage of Astra, Path to Astra and Astra for Law, but not the launch page itself; adding it gives t