Major labs
OpenAI
Makes ChatGPT and the GPT model family — the company most people mean when they say “AI” for the first time.
Checked September 19, 2026
No lab publishes a real roadmap
So this page keeps three things apart on purpose. What has already shipped is dated. What is coming is listed only where the lab itself has said it in public, with the source named. Everything else sits under “What to watch” and is my own read of their shipping pattern — informed guessing, not news. If a date matters to you, check the lab's own page linked above.
What they are
OpenAI is the company most people meet AI through, because ChatGPT is the default front door. Its model line moves in named generations, and the top of that line has been paid-only for some time.
Its pattern is a big flagship jump roughly once a year, with lettered mid-generation refreshes in between, and a small number of open-weight releases kept well behind the flagship.
What they currently ship
Every model in the directory entry, with its free-tier status.
- GPT-6 Astra— The new flagship (launched 3 September 2026): deep reasoning, agentic computer-use automation, top-tier coding and research work.Paid only
- GPT-5.6 Sol— Prior-generation flagship, still excellent for complex professional and coding work when Astra isn’t needed.Paid only
- GPT-5.6 Terra— Balanced mid-tier model for everyday reasoning and coding at lower cost; included on paid plans (Go and up), not on the free plan.Paid only
- GPT-5.6 Luna— The fast, everyday chat model — ChatGPT’s free plan includes unlimited text chat with it, with limited image and voice access.Free
- gpt-oss-120b / gpt-oss-20b— OpenAI’s own open-weight models — download and run them on your own hardware.Free, open-weight
- Note: Specialized and restricted models (cybersecurity research, life-sciences research, image and voice generation) exist but need vetted access or a paid plan — they are not general-use free tools.
- Note: Sora (AI video) is discontinued: the app shut down 26 April 2026 and the API follows on 24 September 2026. OpenAI currently has no video-generation product.
What you get for free
The honest version, in one paragraph.
Generous for chat, thin for everything else. The free plan gives you unlimited text conversation with a fast mid-tier model, and the open-weight gpt-oss models are free if you have hardware to run them — but the flagship, the balanced mid-tier, image and voice generation all sit behind a paid plan.
Track record
Things that actually happened, oldest first, each with a date.
- November 2022ChatGPT launches and becomes the fastest-adopted consumer software product of its era.
- August 2025gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b ship as OpenAI's first open-weight models in years.
- 26 April 2026The Sora video app is shut down.
- 3 September 2026GPT-6 Astra launches as the new flagship: deep reasoning, agentic computer use, top-tier coding.
Confirmed and announced
Only what the lab has stated in public. Nothing here rests on a rumor.
The Sora API is retired on 24 September 2026, leaving OpenAI with no video-generation product.
Announced by the lab
The free ChatGPT plan includes unlimited text chat on GPT-5.6 Luna, with limited image and voice access; GPT-6 Astra and the Terra and Sol tiers need a paid plan.
Stated on the lab's own pricing or docs page
What to watch
My own read of where this lab is heading, based on how it has shipped so far. Not announcements — treat these as questions to check, not facts.
- — A mid-generation GPT-6 refresh before any GPT-7, following the 5.x lettered pattern.
- — Whether any GPT-6-era capability reaches the free plan, which is how you can tell if competitive pressure from Google is landing.
- — Whether video generation returns in some form after Sora's retirement, or stays abandoned.
Their ethics and safety policies
What OpenAI has published about safety and ethics, the documents themselves, what those documents leave out — and my own read, kept separate.
Looking for which tool to actually use? See AI Models Compared