In a scientific report, OpenAI unveiled a new AI named Astra.Currently limited to internal use, artificial intelligence distinguished itself by finding solutions to ten mathematical and computer science problems. Reputedly insoluble, these problems gave mathematicians and researchers a hard time for ten years, or even more than thirty years.

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Historical discoveries for just $2,000

As OpenAI explains in its lengthy report, Astra notably solved a 27-year-old mathematical enigma and three puzzles by mathematician Paul Erdős, a historical figure in mathematics. This Hungarian mathematician left behind hundreds of complex, unsolved problems that still fascinate the scientific community. Astra discovered a solution to three of these problems. Each result obtained by ChatGPT “solves or substantially advances a long-standing open problem”, says the startup.

An internal version of Astra, @OpenAI’s next major model family, solved 10 major open problems in mathematics, quantum complexity, and theoretical computer science.

We believe it will be a major step for scientific reasoning.https://t.co/iP6cyheZ7i https://t.co/DfBOvi5O8F pic.twitter.com/jHuulDwV46

— Noam Brown (@polynoamial) August 1, 2026

Astra also worked on a mathematical problem that serves as the basis for a new generation of encryption algorithms, designed to withstand future quantum computers. All the discoveries made by Astra cost only $2,000 in computing fees. Each discovery was verified and validated by Lean, software that automatically checks whether a mathematical argument is correct, step by step. OpenAI has turned Astra's ten proofs into Lean files, publicly available on GitHub. This approach allows anyone to download these files and have each proof verified by their own computer, without having to take OpenAI's word for it.

The king of artificial intelligence explains wanting to "give scientists and mathematicians tools that accelerate discovery". To this end, OpenAI has also set up ChatGPT for Academic Researchers. This initiative consists of offering 100,000 scientists and mathematicians 100% free access to the most sophisticated models in the ChatGPT catalog.

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Astra, OpenAI's future cutting-edge AI

Astra remains reserved for internal use at OpenAI for the time being.Sam Altman’s company says that this is a family of models capable of handling long tasks by having several AI agents work simultaneously. A few days ago, CEO Sam Altman demonstrated Astra to policymakers in Washington. For now, OpenAI has not elaborated on the launch date of this “next major model.”

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Source: OpenAI