OpenAI released GPT-5.6 Sol on September 8, 2026, saying it helps run and refine routine measurements on quantum chips. It is the company's first software update since its Codex release in 2024.
OpenAI reported GPT-5.6 Sol completed a standard sequence of measurements with little researcher intervention, measured on a six-qubit chip. That compares with prior methods requiring several days for characterization.
GPT-5.6 Sol is built on Codex and targets quantum computing experiments. Availability begins in 2026, initially for researchers in quantum systems.
"I can have agents running measurements for many hours overnight or while I’m working in the cleanroom," said Beatriz Yankelevich, a graduate student in MIT’s Engineering Quantum Systems Group. She added that she can check in from her phone, see what they’ve done, and steer them if something needs fixing or if she wants to explore a different direction.
The announcement follows EQuS fabricating many of these standard chips, each of which can take a researcher several days to characterize. OpenAI said the use of AI agents in quantum computing experiments represents a step toward more efficient and autonomous research.
OpenAI did not say how GPT-5.6 Sol handles ambiguous physical results, and it raised the open question of whether current agents can interpret such results. The source says the results suggest that current agents can handle clearly defined experimental workflows, but interpreting ambiguous physical results remains a challenge.
Source: openai
