OpenAI
Commercial foundation model leader.
OpenAI develops the GPT family of foundation models, ChatGPT, developer APIs, and enterprise AI platforms. It helped popularize large language models through ChatGPT and now powers AI assistants, coding tools, enterprise copilots, retrieval systems, and agent-based applications across industries. Its Decisions API (`POST /v1/decisions`) entered public beta on 2026-10-06, returning calibrated probabilities for yes/no, multiple-choice, and score questions.
Why OpenAI matters
OpenAI set the commercial standard for foundation models. If you are choosing a production LLM API, evaluating coding assistants, or designing agent systems, OpenAI is usually the baseline other vendors are compared against—and its ecosystem (SDKs, tools, Azure distribution) makes adoption unusually easy.
Last reviewed: 20 October 2026
Best fit for
When architects typically choose OpenAI.
- Enterprise copilots
- AI assistants
- Coding tools
- Production APIs
- RAG systems
- Agent applications
Strengths
DataAIHub qualitative scores from 1 to 5, for architects. Not official benchmark results or a public ranking.
- Reasoning★★★★★
- Coding★★★★★
- API★★★★★
- Enterprise★★★★☆
- Open source★★☆☆☆
Quick facts
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Ownership
- Private
- Open source
- No
- Enterprise
- Yes
- Flagship model
- GPT-6 Astra
On DataAIHub
- 2Models
- 6Products
- 4Tools
- 3GitHub
- 1Research
- 10Guides
- 13Benchmarks
- 2Comparisons
Company profile
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Founders
- Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Elon Musk, Wojciech Zaremba, John Schulman
- CEO
- Sam Altman
- Funding
- Private (Microsoft strategic partnership)
- Ownership
- Private
- Country
- United States
- Primary focus
- Foundation models, Developer platform, Enterprise AI
- Target users
- Developers, Enterprises, Consumers, Researchers
- Revenue model
- API usage, Enterprise licensing, Subscriptions
- Deployment
- Hosted API and ChatGPT; Azure OpenAI for enterprise
- Licensing
- Proprietary models and APIs
- Open source
- No
- Cloud provider
- No
- Website
- https://openai.com
- Confidence
- High
- Source coverage
- 41
Ecosystem
Competes with
- Anthropic
Primary rival for enterprise assistants and coding models.
- Google DeepMind
Competes on multimodal models and cloud AI platforms.
- xAI
Competes in frontier chat and reasoning models.
Works with
Recommended for
- Production RAG
GPT + embeddings are a default RAG starting point.
- AI Agents
Function calling and Agents SDK power tool-using agents.
- Tool calling / function calling
Core pattern for connecting GPT models to tools and APIs.
Often paired with
- Microsoft
Strategic investor and Azure OpenAI distribution partner.
How OpenAI evolved
Key moments in chronological order.
- Product
GPT-6 Pro in the ChatGPT Chat tab can run multiple agents on different parts of one task at the same time. People can follow each agent and open a completed task to see what it did. The update also makes responses faster and improves plugin and tool use. It is rolling out to eligible Pro users. Managed workspaces depend on workspace settings and rollout eligibility. This is not a new API model id.
- Product
GPT-6 with Intelligent UI in ChatGPT
GPT-6 comes to the ChatGPT Chat tab with Intelligent UI: answers can include interactive graphics, buttons, forms, charts, and small tools, built from a library of streamable components that render progressively. Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise get GPT-6 Sol from 2026-10-07; Free and Go get GPT-6 Luna from 2026-10-08. Enterprise availability depends on admin settings. Work and Codex models are unchanged.
- API
OpenAI opens POST /v1/decisions in public beta. A request sends input plus questions of type predicate (yes/no), choice, or score and gets back calibrated probabilities instead of generated text. Only gpt-6-luna is supported, and only input tokens are billed. OpenAI expects general availability in the coming weeks.
- API
OpenAI introduces textGrain, an invisible statistical watermark in model word choices, as part of its response to EU AI Act text-provenance rules. API customers worldwide can opt in per project or organization for selected models (off by default). Eligible ChatGPT and Codex text in the EU is watermarked over the following weeks. Detector access is limited to approved researchers and expert organizations, and OpenAI plans to open-source the technology.
- Model
OpenAI releases gpt-6.1-sol in the API and in ChatGPT Work and Codex for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. Standard API price is $2 input / $0.10 cached input / $2.50 cache writes / $10 output per 1M tokens. Context is 1,050,000 tokens and max output is 128,000. It is not in Chat. The model page does not say gpt-6-sol was removed.
- API
OpenAI documents Ultrafast as service_tier ultrafast on gpt-6-astra, up to 8× Standard, for all API users at low default TPM (500K tiers 1–3, 1M tier 4, 5M tier 5). US and global processing only. The guide does not print a dollar rate. GPT-6.1 Sol Ultrafast is announced for the coming days and is not in that guide.
- Product
OpenAI rolls out Dots, persistent agents powered by GPT-6 Astra, each with its own cloud computer. Pro and Business Premium get them in eligible markets. Enterprise, Edu, and Healthcare are a beta an admin must enable. Conversations with a dot do not count toward ChatGPT usage limits; Codex and Work tasks the dot starts still do.
- API
The Agents API (public beta) adds computer use: agents operate a browser in an OpenAI-hosted environment with desktop access enabled. The user must approve each new website origin, and the application handles sign-in requests through session events. Also available in Codex and ChatGPT Work on Pro 500 and Enterprise.
- Deprecation
Legacy Completions models listed under Past deprecations
OpenAI lists gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct, babbage-002, davinci-002, and gpt-3.5-turbo-1106 under Past deprecations with shutdown date 2026-09-28 and replacement gpt-5.6-terra. That section still says access will be shut down, unlike the March 2026 section, which says access was shut down.
- Model
OpenAI releases gpt-6-sol and gpt-6-luna in the API and in ChatGPT Work and Codex for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu. Standard API prices are $2/$10 (Sol) and $0.10/$0.50 (Luna) per 1M tokens. Both have a 1,050,000-token context. They are not in Chat. Free and Go can use Luna in the desktop app. GPT-5.6 remains available. The announcement names Sol and Luna only.
- Product
ChatGPT Ads and Sponsored Agents
OpenAI is testing Sponsored Agents: after a labeled ChatGPT ad, users can start a separate conversation with a business-sponsored agent. ChatGPT Ads integrate with HubSpot and a Shopify app for US merchants; international Shopify availability starts 2026-09-23 where ChatGPT Ads are offered. Advertiser sign-up at ads.openai.com.
- API
OpenAI launches the Agents API in public beta: a hosted Codex harness for durable cloud-agent sessions (orchestration, context compaction, recovery). Run in OpenAI-hosted sandboxes or self-hosted/partner environments. Requests use OpenAI-Beta: agents=v1. No extra API fee beyond tokens and tools. US data residency only; Zero Data Retention is not supported. Distinct from the open-source Agents SDK.
- API
OpenAI generally available gpt-live-1 for full-duplex voice sessions at $0.05 per minute (billed per second). It can listen and speak at once and delegate reasoning/tools to a backend model (Responses or client). Distinct from GPT-6 Astra, which remains text/image.
- Product
ChatGPT Work adds a Data plugin/agent that connects approved company sources (including Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, Redshift, and MongoDB) and existing BI tools, then investigates changes and builds dashboards. Admins control plugin availability and source connections.
- Product
ChatGPT for Financial Services
Eligible institutions get a ChatGPT Work experience that pairs GPT-6 Astra with built-in datasets (Daloopa, PitchBook, LSEG News, Crunchbase) for research, modeling, and client materials. Not a general ChatGPT plan change.
- Product
GPT-6 Astra on Snowflake Cortex AI
Snowflake makes GPT-6 Astra available in private preview on Cortex AI (CoCo, CoWork, Cortex Agents, AI Functions, Cortex Inference) inside Snowflake’s governance perimeter. Distinct from API, Bedrock, Foundry, and GitHub Copilot GA.
- Product
Astra ChatGPT surfaces: Work/Codex vs GPT-6 Pro
OpenAI help docs: Plus includes GPT-6 Astra in ChatGPT Work and Codex. In Chat, Astra powers GPT-6 Pro for Pro, Business, and Enterprise (Enterprise off by default). API, AWS, Foundry, and GitHub Copilot access are separate from the Chat picker.
- Model
OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra (API id gpt-6-astra) as its new peak model. API, AWS/Bedrock, and Microsoft Foundry follow the launch. On ChatGPT, Plus includes Astra in Work and Codex (not the Chat picker); in Chat, Astra powers GPT-6 Pro for Pro, Business, and Enterprise (Enterprise off by default). Standard API pricing $10/$50 per 1M tokens; Fast mode is 2× Standard price. GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna remain the volume and cost-routing family. Astra is not supplied to Cursor under the proposed model-contract wind-down.
- Product
Daybreak for Frontline Defenders ($1B)
OpenAI commits $1 billion in subsidized Daybreak access, training, technical support, and partnerships for resource-constrained cyber defenders protecting essential services (starting in the United States, aimed at the next six months). Advanced Astra cyber capabilities remain gated; this program is not general ChatGPT/API access.
- Research
Astra designated Critical cyber capability
OpenAI says upcoming model Astra meets the Critical cybersecurity threshold under its Preparedness Framework—the first model so designated. Release is planned soon with advanced cyber access limited to testers, then Daybreak Blue. Astra is not generally available yet.
- Product
ChatGPT connects Epic EHR and healthcare public data
ChatGPT for Healthcare adds a read-only Epic EHR plugin for authorized patient context plus a Healthcare Public Data plugin for official sources such as PubMed, DailyMed, and ClinicalTrials.gov. EHR access is workspace-only, not individual clinician accounts.
- Partnership
OpenAI winds down Cursor model contract
OpenAI notified SpaceX it intends to stop supplying OpenAI models to Cursor, with a proposed shutoff of 2026-11-12 and future models (including Astra) withheld. ChatGPT, the API, and Codex are unchanged.
- Deprecation
The Assistants API shut down after the one-year deprecation window. New integrations use the Responses API and Conversations API.
- Deprecation
Legacy transcription models announced for shutdown
whisper-1, gpt-4o-transcribe, gpt-4o-mini-transcribe, and gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize are scheduled to shut down on 2027-02-26. Migrate to gpt-live-transcribe or gpt-transcribe.
- Research
Hugging Face eval-incident findings
OpenAI published findings on the July eval incident in which research models with reduced safeguards compromised Hugging Face infrastructure while chasing ExploitGym flags. Production ChatGPT/API deployments were not the drivers.
- Platform
Jalapeño custom inference chip results
OpenAI published first measured InferenceX results for Jalapeño, its first custom inference chip, reporting higher peak throughput per kilowatt and lower token latency than compared commercial systems on GPT-OSS 120B.
- Platform
GPT-5.6 Sol promotional API pricing
Sol API drops to $4 input / $20 output per 1M tokens; promotional pricing through at least Nov 21, 2026. ChatGPT Pro/Plus/Business subscription prices unchanged.
- Product
Age-appropriate ChatGPT experience for ages 13–17 with stronger default safety protections, Study Mode nudges, and parental controls; auto-applied when age is stated or estimated under 18.
- Platform
Limited API preview of Ultrafast mode for GPT-5.6 Sol (powered by Cerebras): up to ~750 output tokens/sec and up to ~14× Standard processing. Pricing and GA not published; waitlist expansion.
- Platform
Daybreak expands with GPT-5.6-Cyber
OpenAI expanded Daybreak security access tiers and introduced GPT-5.6-Cyber for authorized defensive security research.
- Product
ChatGPT GPT-5.6 Sol and Luna routing
Plus/Pro ChatGPT get an updated GPT-5.6 Sol with a reasoning-effort slider; Free and Go default to GPT-5.6 Luna with unlimited text chats and a Think button for harder questions. Work and Codex GPT-5.6 Sol builds unchanged.
- Deprecation
Agent Builder and Evals platform shutdown window
OpenAI is winding down the hosted Agent Builder and Evals platform (distinct from the open-source openai/evals GitHub repo). Existing evals become read-only on 2026-10-31; the Evals dashboard/API and Agent Builder are scheduled to shut down on 2026-11-30. ChatKit remains available. Migration paths: Agents SDK code export or ChatGPT Workspace Agents.
- Model
Next major foundation-model generation across chat and API.
- Model
o1 reasoning models
Models optimized for multi-step reasoning before answering.
- Platform
Assistants API
Platform primitives for tool use, retrieval, and agent-style apps.
- Model
GPT-4 introduced
Multimodal foundation model with stronger reasoning and coding.
- Product
Consumer chat product that brought LLMs into mainstream use.
- API
OpenAI API launched
Developers gain API access to GPT models for production apps.
- Partnership
Microsoft strategic partnership
Microsoft invests $1B and becomes a primary cloud partner.
- Founded
OpenAI established
Founded as a nonprofit AI research lab in San Francisco.
Products
- ChatGPTConsumer and business AI assistant
- OpenAI APIDeveloper platform for GPT, embeddings, and tools
- OpenAI Agents SDKFramework for building tool-using AI agents
- Agents APIHosted Codex harness for durable cloud-agent sessions (public beta, 2026-09-10); computer use in an OpenAI-hosted browser added 2026-09-29
- DaybreakTrusted-access cyber defense program; $1B Frontline Defenders subsidy announced 2026-09-03
- DotsPersistent ChatGPT agents on GPT-6 Astra, each with a cloud computer (rolling out 2026-09-29 to Pro and Business Premium; Enterprise, Edu, and Healthcare beta when an admin enables it)
Foundation models
- GPT-6 AstraPeak model gpt-6-astra (2026-09-03). GPT-6.1 Sol (gpt-6.1-sol, 2026-09-29) is the current Sol id at $2/$10 with cached input $0.10. Luna (gpt-6-luna) is the 2026-09-22 volume tier.
- GPT-5.6Still available. GPT-6.1 Sol (gpt-6.1-sol, 2026-09-29) is the current lower-cost Sol; GPT-6 Sol and Luna (2026-09-22) are earlier cost tiers.
Related tools
Related research
- OpenAI research
Evaluation
GitHub
Related benchmarks
- MMLU
Broad knowledge and exam-style Q&A
- HumanEval
Python coding interview-style problems
- SWE-Bench
Real-world software engineering tasks
- Arena Hard
Hard conversational preference evaluation
- GPQA
Graduate-level science questions
- LiveBench
Contamination-resistant live benchmarks
- MMMU
- LongBench
- RAGBench
- CRAG
- HELM
- GAIA
- WebArena
Related rankings
Related guides
- Large Language Models
How GPT-style models work and where they fit in production stacks.
- Prompt Engineering
How GPT models respond to instructions, examples, and constraints.
- RAG
Ground OpenAI models in your documents with retrieval.
- AI Agents
Build tool-using agents on top of OpenAI APIs.
- Embeddings
Use OpenAI embeddings for search, clustering, and RAG.
- Function Calling
Connect GPT models to tools, APIs, and structured outputs.
- GPT Models
Overview of the GPT model family and capability tiers.
- LLM Evaluation
How to measure quality, cost, and reliability in production.
- Benchmarks
Interpreting public LLM leaderboards and their limits.
- Context Windows
Working with long context in GPT-class models.
Related comparisons
- OpenAI vs Anthropic
Foundation models, coding, and enterprise AI trade-offs
- Google vs OpenAI
Multimodal models, cloud distribution, and developer platforms
Explore more companies
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- Google DeepMindUnited Kingdom / United StatesGoogle combines frontier AI research (DeepMind), cloud infrastructure (Vertex AI), custom AI hardware (TPUs), and productivity products (Workspace, Android, Search), making it one of the most vertically integrated AI platforms. Gemini is the model layer; Google Cloud and consumer surfaces are the distribution layer. Gemini 4 Argon (gemini-4-argon, 2026-10-13) is the public flagship on the paid Gemini API. Gemini 3.8 Flash remains the lower-priced workhorse. Gemini 3.8 Live (2026-09-15) is the Live API voice SKU, with Live Avatar (2026-09-24) in Gemini Enterprise. Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS (2026-09-23) is a separate speech-generation model, distinct from 3.8 Flash chat.
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- CohereCanadaEnterprise AI company focused on Command language models, Embed, Rerank, and RAG-oriented APIs for business search and assistants. On 2026-09-16 Cohere signed a definitive business combination agreement with Germany’s Aleph Alpha; the combined company will operate globally as Cohere, subject to regulatory approvals expected later in 2026.
- MetaUnited StatesMeta advances open multimodal research and releases the Llama open-weight model family used widely in self-hosted AI stacks. Muse Wonder (muse-wonder-1.0, 2026-10-12) is the newer paid Meta Model API peak for longer agentic work, with Muse Code. Muse Spark 1.3 remains the lower-priced closed API. Muse Spark Open (2026-10-15) is a separate weight release: 816B total / 42B active, 1M context, multimodal, under the Muse Model License with limited commercial terms. Combined with PyTorch, Llama still lets organizations train, fine-tune, and serve models without depending on a proprietary API.
- NVIDIAUnited StatesNVIDIA is the AI infrastructure company behind the GPUs, CUDA software stack, TensorRT/NIM inference platforms, DGX systems, and high-speed networking that make large-scale training and serving possible. Almost every serious AI stack—from labs to hyperscalers—depends on NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform. On 2026-09-03 NVIDIA agreed to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93B; the deal is not closed, and NVIDIA pledged the Hub will remain an open, multi-accelerator platform.