OpenAI Cleared for Wider GPT-5.6 Rollout
By Suad Seferi ·
OpenAI has received U.S. government approval to expand access to its GPT-5.6 model family, after an initial rollout was limited to a small group of government-approved partners. The approval was reported by Axios and carried by Reuters, which said the U.S. Commerce Department cleared a broader launch following additional testing and meetings between OpenAI and government officials. The decision ends several weeks of restricted access to GPT-5.6, one of OpenAI’s most advanced model families. The model was first released in a limited preview after U.S. officials asked the company to delay a wider launch over national security and cybersecurity concerns. According to Axios, the wider release could begin this week. OpenAI had previously said the preview included GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna, available through its API and Codex to selected trusted partners. The case shows how frontier AI releases are moving closer to government oversight, especially in the United States, where advanced models are increasingly being reviewed through a national security lens. For Europe and the Balkans, the signal is clear: access to the most capable AI systems may depend not only on companies, but also on government decisions in Washington. That could affect developers, startups, public institutions and research teams that rely on global AI platforms but have little influence over how access rules are set.