OpenAI gets US approval for broad GPT-5.6 rollout, Axios reports

July 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Commerce has approved a broad launch of OpenAI’s advanced GPT-5.6 model following additional government testing under Washington’s new oversight framework for frontier artificial intelligence, Axios reported on Tuesday.

OpenAI expects to release GPT 5.6 more widely this week following additional testing and meetings with U.S. government officials, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. 

The testing was conducted by the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, with OpenAI sending technical experts to Washington to address any questions, according to the report. 

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

OpenAI, White House, and the U.S. Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, OpenAI said it was delaying a full public launch of GPT-5.6 at the U.S. government’s request, limiting the AI model’s initial access to a small group of vetted partners whose details were shared with authorities.

Washington has increased scrutiny of advanced model releases to identify potential threats on concerns that technology could be misused by military or intelligence in China, Russia or other countries of concern.

The delay followed a June executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump establishing a voluntary framework under which AI developers can provide “covered frontier models” to the U.S. government for up to 30 days before releasing them to trusted partners.

Anthropic said last week that the Commerce Department lifted restrictions on access to its most advanced Fable and Mythos AI models, less than three weeks after ordering the company to suspend availability of the systems over national security risks.

By securing early access to frontier models, U.S. officials aim to identify threats ranging from cyberattacks to potential military misuse before the tools are deployed more broadly.

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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