OpenAI Astra Solves 10 Long-Standing Math Problems

OpenAI has previewed Astra, an unreleased AI model built to handle difficult, long-running work. The company says an internal version of OpenAI Astra produced ten notable advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science.

According to a new research post, the central results behind these problems had remained unresolved for at least a decade. In several cases, researchers had made no meaningful progress for much longer.

OpenAI Astra tackles difficult research problems

OpenAI said Astra was tested across several advanced fields, including high-dimensional geometry, coding theory, group theory, lattice cryptography, quantum complexity and extremal combinatorics.

The reported results include work on non-sofic groups, a disproof of Connes’s rigidity conjecture and new bounds for high-dimensional sphere packing. Astra also helped resolve several problems first posed by mathematician Paul Erdős.

OpenAI estimated that finding the solutions required about $2,000 worth of tokens at Sol API rates. However, human researchers still played a central role in preparing the resulting arguments as academic manuscripts.

Lean certificates check every argument

OpenAI Astra then formalised each argument as a Lean certificate. Lean is a mathematical proof-verification system that allows formal checks of each logical step.

This process gives researchers a way to verify that a proof follows the required rules. As a result, Astra’s work can be independently checked instead of relying only on a model-generated explanation.

OpenAI has also said it is making rapid progress in scientific research. The company has not yet provided a public release date for Astra.

Astra could launch as GPT-5.7 or GPT-6

The Information has separately reported that OpenAI is developing Astra as a new model family for long-running workloads.

OpenAI says the model can support AI agents that collaborate across different parts of a large problem. That capability could make it useful for research tasks that require planning, repeated verification and coordination.

The company has reportedly not decided whether Astra will launch as GPT-5.7, GPT-6 or under a separate name. Reports also suggest OpenAI may use a tiered release approach, with a consumer version available more broadly and a stronger variant subject to additional approval.