OpenAI Says GPT-6 Astra Designed a Hardware Device in Under a Week

OpenAI said on November 3, 2026, that its hardware team used GPT-6 Astra to design a device that lets users talk to the Codex coding agent, completing the work as a side project in under a week. According to OpenAI, Astra handled every step of the design, from enclosure design and PCB layout to firmware and the user interface. A contract manufacturer then produced a small batch of prototypes in under a month, although several revision rounds were needed because Astra did not always account for manufacturing constraints, tolerances, and assembly details.

Benchmark scores

OpenAI is also touting a performance jump. A newer internal model scores 0.875 on the BenchCAD 2.0 benchmark, while GPT-6 Astra at its highest reasoning level hits 0.594. The benchmark tests whether models can reconstruct 3D parts and assemblies and identify connections on PCBs. OpenAI has not shared details about the internal model.

Broader hardware work

OpenAI says its hardware teams use Codex and ChatGPT for CAD models, manufacturing drawings, and simulations across areas such as robotics and compute infrastructure. Token usage has grown 23x since February. OpenAI is also building its own hardware device, reportedly something between an AI speaker and a smartphone.

Sources: The Decoder