Technical monitoring platforms have spotted a new OpenAI model, codenamed “Spud” (GPT-5.5), undergoing large-scale testing in a production environment. According to data from the prediction market “Polymarket,” traders are pricing in an 80% chance that next Thursday, April 23, will be the official launch date for this model, which represents a new technical leap for the company.
Details
These developments follow a series of indicators confirming the new model’s readiness:
• Training completion: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, confirmed that the pre-training phase for the model ended on March 24.
• Economic capabilities: Altman described the model as having the actual capacity to “accelerate the economy,” while company President Greg Brockman noted it is the result of two years of intensive research.
• Technical competition: With this launch, OpenAI aims to reclaim the top spot following Anthropic’s announcement of “Claude Opus 4.7,” which achieved record-breaking scores in coding benchmarks.
• Leaks: Leaked outputs from live testing suggest a significant performance improvement compared to the current GPT-5.4 version.
What next?
• Will OpenAI officially announce GPT-5.5 within the next 48 hours?
• How will tech markets and developers respond to the economic capabilities promised by Altman?
• Will “Spud” succeed in breaking Claude 4.7’s records in the coding sector?
What else?
The timing of the launch reflects OpenAI’s desire to blunt the momentum recently gained by Anthropic. Naming the model GPT-5.5 instead of GPT-6 may suggest a deep architectural update and efficiency improvements rather than a radical shift in model philosophy. However, the focus on “accelerating the economy” implies the tool will be geared more toward productivity and complex automation rather than just interactive chat.
