Behind OpenAI’s Public Release of GPT-5.6: $665 Billion in Off-Balance-Sheet Liabilities, Delayed IPO, and SoftBank’s AI Bet
TradingKey - On July 9, Eastern Time, OpenAI officially released the GPT-5.6 series models to the public, including three models: Sol, Terra, and Luna, ending the limited preview implemented since June 26 due to US government security reviews.
This release is more than just a product iteration; it is a carefully orchestrated "roadshow" for the capital markets. Sol entered the market at approximately half the price of its competitor, Claude Fable 5 (at $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens), while scoring 91.9% on the Terminal-Bench 2.1 programming benchmark, surpassing Claude Mythos 5's 88%.
However, behind the glitzy product launch, a more severe issue is looming: if OpenAI postpones its IPO to 2027, the impact on artificial