OpenAI has released GPT-5.6 Sol, a new model that edges ahead of Anthropic's Claude Mythos in coding benchmarks while matching it on cybersecurity tasks with greater token efficiency. The model is available only to select API partners under US government restrictions that OpenAI says should not become long-term policy. Pricing tiers range from $1–$30 per million tokens depending on the model variant and token type, with a broader launch planned for Cerebras in July.
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OpenAI unveiled GPT-5.6 Sol, a new flagship model competing with Anthropic's Claude Mythos. Access is limited to select partners through the API and Codex at the US government's direction. The model comes in three tiers—Sol (flagship), Terra (matching GPT-5.5 performance at half the cost), and Luna (budget option)—plus "max" and "ultra" reasoning modes.
Why it matters
On Terminal-Bench 2.1, Sol scores 88.8 percent in agentic coding (AI agents that independently handle complex tasks), edging Claude Mythos 5's 88 percent. Sol Ultra reaches 91.9 percent. On cybersecurity benchmarks, Sol matches Claude's performance while using roughly a third of the output tokens, suggesting lower effective costs per task despite broader inflation in AI pricing. OpenAI has publicly objected to government-mandated access restrictions, calling them unsustainable.
What to watch
Sol pricing is $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens; Terra costs $2.50 and $15; Luna costs $1 and $6. In July, Sol launches on Cerebras at up to 750 tokens per second. OpenAI has also revamped prompt caching with a guaranteed 30-minute minimum lifetime and 90 percent discounts on cache reads.
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