OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, stated on Thursday that the company's latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-5.6 Sol, has achieved a 54% improvement in token efficiency for agent programming tasks and performs "as well as or better than" competing products on the market.

"Every company is now thinking about spending and the return they get from AI, and that's exactly what we really want to do," Altman said.

OpenAI launched its latest model series—GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna—on Thursday, models which were publicly announced last month. Initially, the company conducted a limited release to a "small group of trusted partners" in response to U.S. government requirements.

Altman indicated that the company collaborated during the approval process with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and National Cyber Director Sean Kaincross. He described OpenAI's cooperation with the government as a "back-and-forth, collaborative" process where the government conducts tests and raises questions for the company to address.

"If you want broad usage (which we do) and you have a powerful model, you have to be confident in your safety claims, otherwise the world will get nervous very quickly," Altman remarked.

Previous reports suggested OpenAI was engaged in preliminary and ongoing talks with the Trump administration regarding the potential for the government to hold a stake in the company. According to a Financial Times report, OpenAI had proposed offering a 5% equity stake to the government, but Altman stated "there is a lot of inaccuracy in that."

Altman expressed his desire for a global regulatory approach, enabling people to use AI without safety concerns.

"Everyone gets access," he said. "The U.S. does not get a disproportionate benefit from it."

Founded in 2015 as a non-profit research lab, OpenAI entered the mainstream following the 2022 launch of its ChatGPT chatbot. The company is currently valued at $852 billion by private investors and is engaged in a race for AI dominance with rivals including Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Meta released its latest AI model, Muse Spark 1.1, on Thursday, calling it "the most powerful agent and programming model to date." SpaceX, which acquired Musk's AI startup xAI earlier this year, launched a model named Grok 4.5 on Wednesday.

SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history last month, while OpenAI and Anthropic are also preparing for potentially massive public market debuts. Both companies have confidentially filed draft registration statements with regulators but have not announced formal plans or a timeline.

When asked if OpenAI would pursue an initial public offering this year, Altman was tight-lipped.

"I don't know," he said.