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Several major technology companies are releasing new AI models or updates this week, as the AI race promises to be hotter than the summer heatwave.
OpenAI is expected to make GPT-5.6 publicly available on Thursday, widening access to its latest and most capable AI model after an earlier limited rollout.
The company first unveiled GPT-5.6 in late June, but access was restricted to a small group of vetted partners while the US government reviewed potential national security risks.
Similarly to the release, withdrawal and subsequent re-release of Anthropic’s Fable model, US officials had raised concerns that increasingly powerful AI systems could be misused, including for cyber or military purposes.
OpenAI said in a post on X late Tuesday that it now plans to release GPT-5.6 Sol, along with its Terra and Luna models. Sol is the company’s most advanced model, while Terra is a lower-cost mid-tier option and Luna is its most cost-efficient version.
The precarious rollout schedule by leading AI companies also highlights how the race is no longer merely about capability, but also about who controls deployment, whose data powers the tools and where — and how — they are used.
The delayed rollout reflects growing government scrutiny of frontier AI systems, as policymakers seek more oversight of models that could be used in sensitive areas such as cybersecurity, defence and intelligence.
In June, the Trump administration signed an executive order establishing a voluntary framework under which AI developers could offer “covered frontier models” to the US government for up to 30 days before releasing them to trusted partners, and later, to the wider public.
“We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default. It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them,” OpenAI wrote in an announcement in June.
“We are taking this short-term step because we believe it is the strongest path to broader availability in the coming weeks, while we work with the Administration to develop the cyber Executive Order framework and a repeatable process for future model releases,” the company added.
SpaceXAI and Meta add to a crowded week of AI launches
OpenAI’s update comes as other technology companies race to bring new AI models and tools to market.
Elon Musk’s AI venture SpaceXAI, also known as xAI, is reportedly preparing to release a new AI model with Anysphere, the company behind the AI coding tool Cursor, according to The Information, which cited a memo sent to staff.
The Information reported that the model could be released as early as Wednesday and is expected to process information quickly, making it competitive in some respects with Anthropic’s Opus 4.8 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.5.
Meanwhile, Meta launched Muse Image this week, its first image-generation model built by Meta Superintelligence Labs.
Like other image generators, Muse Image supports prompt-based image generation and editing. Meta says the model can “act as the creative partner” and help users “turn ideas into high-quality visuals” to share on their feed, story or chat.
However, the model has drawn criticism because users with public Instagram accounts can be mentioned in prompts, allowing others to generate images that use their public posts as reference material, unless they opt out in settings.
Meta’s policy states that “people may be able to create content with your Instagram content using AI features at Meta” and that users “will not be notified about content created using AI features at Meta.”