Move over Anthropic, OpenAI is back to take the artificial-intelligence crown. At least that's the ChatGPT developer's claim with the launch of a new AI model that could boost a number of its partners.

OpenAI late Thursday announced its GPT-6 Astra model. The model will initially roll out to a limited number of organizations before becoming available to all ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users in the coming days.

Investors could be forgiven for shrugging at the release of yet another new AI model. But there are reasons to pay attention-this is the release OpenAI has chosen to officially move on from GPT 5, suggesting it thinks it marks a significant leap.

Plenty of companies are betting on the success of OpenAI, which has committed to roughly $1.4 trillion in spending and has major cloud-computing and chip deals with suppliers including Microsoft, Oracle, CoreWeave, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman told reporters that it could eventually be seen as the moment that artificial general intelligence (AGI)-AI that surpasses humans across a wide range of intellectual tasks-began, according to the Financial Times and other outlets.

Putting philosophical questions aside, GPT-6 Astra is making a good first impression. It ranks just below the most capable models from Claude developer Anthropic on general intelligence, according to Artificial Analysis, an independent AI benchmarking provider. However, it is significantly cheaper per task.

"GPT-6 Astra makes significant gains in the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index, scoring equal to [Anthropic's] Fable 5 at lower cost. In the Intelligence Index, it uses fewer tokens than GPT-5.6 Sol for similar performance, but this is outweighed by higher prices," Artificial Analysis said.

The real test will come when the model is rolled out generally for users. OpenAI could do with a hit release to reassure investors it's not falling behind Anthropic.

OpenAI looks set for an initial public offering in 2027 as it works through a series of executive departures. Meanwhile, Anthropic still looks set for an IPO this year, aiming for a valuation of about $2 trillion, according to The Wall Street Journal.