OpenAI Launches GPT-6 Astra as Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion

Today, OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra. [4] The model features a 1,050,000-token context window and operates software across browsers, spreadsheets, desktop applications, and terminals. [4] Astra posted a 97.6% score on FrontierMath Tier 4 and a 96% on GPQA Diamond. [17] The model also improved the known bound for infinitely recurring short gaps between prime numbers from 240 to 186. [17]

During early testing, Canva reportedly used Astra to navigate a codebase containing more than 80 million lines, write and analyze over 1,000 data queries, and consult more than 21 internal knowledge sources before recommending improvements. [13] In simulations using the offline portion of the OSWorld 2.0 benchmark, Astra completed computer-use tasks in about 47% less time than GPT-5.6 Sol. [13]

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman apologized early on September 4, 2026, for a rollout that left paying ChatGPT subscribers without expected access. [5] Astra is live today only for organizations in OpenAI’s Trusted Access and Daybreak programs. [4] In the API, the model is priced at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens at standard processing speed. [5]

Enterprise access is off by default at launch and must be enabled by workspace administrators. [5] Astra usage is included within existing subscription allowances, with credits purchasable for additional usage. [5]

Astra is OpenAI's first model to reach the Critical level of cybersecurity capability under its Preparedness Framework. [7] With the right tools and access, GPT-6 Astra can find previously unknown security flaws and develop new ways to exploit them across many well-protected systems without a person guiding each step. [7]

Separately, Nvidia agreed to buy open-source platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. [8] Hugging Face last year rejected a $500 million investment offer from Nvidia. [20] Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty. [20]

Astra's launch follows closely on the heels of competitive pressure from Anthropic, which introduced its Fable 5.1 model just three days prior. OpenAI President Greg Brockman framed the Astra release as the potential beginning of the artificial general intelligence era, contrasting with previous remarks from Sam Altman characterizing AGI as a nearly meaningless marketing term. Meanwhile, Nvidia's acquisition of Hugging Face creates a powerful alliance between the dominant hardware provider and the largest open-source model hub, directly challenging the closed-model ecosystems of OpenAI and Anthropic. What the sources don't address: how regulatory bodies will respond to commercial models officially crossing the Critical cybersecurity threshold.