Microsoft begins rolling out OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra on Azure

Microsoft ↘ 2.04% CEO Satya Nadella announced Thursday that enterprise customers have already begun using OpenAI's newly launched GPT-6 Astra model on Azure, as the company moves to position its cloud platform at the center of the latest wave of AI capabilities.

"Excited to see early customers already using Astra on Azure," Nadella wrote on X, shortly after Microsoft announced that the model had started rolling out through the Microsoft Foundry Limited Access Program. Microsoft said availability will expand to additional participating customers in the coming days.microsoft+1

What Is GPT-6 Astra

OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra on September 3, describing it as its most capable model to date. The model goes beyond conventional chatbot interactions, with a hallmark feature called "computer use" that allows it to navigate software applications, browsers, and desktops on a user's behalf. It can reason through multi-step problems, build plans, and produce finished outputs including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.openai+3

OpenAI president Greg Brockman called Astra the company's "most intelligent and, also very importantly, our most aligned model yet" during a call with journalists on Thursday. The model features a 1,050,000-token context window and 128,000 max output tokens.futurework+1

Astra is also OpenAI's first model to meet the "Critical" cybersecurity capability threshold under its Preparedness Framework, meaning it can identify and develop zero-day exploits across hardened systems without human intervention. That designation prompted extensive safety testing and delayed the release from its originally planned September 7 date.unite+2

Azure's AI Strategy

The rollout underscores Azure's expanding role as a distribution channel for frontier AI models. Microsoft's Azure cloud business surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in fiscal year 2026, growing 41% year over year. The company recently began disclosing Azure's financials as a standalone unit for the first time.stocktwits+2

Astra is available on Azure through the Foundry Limited Access Program, alongside its availability through OpenAI's own API and Amazon Web Services Amazon.com, Inc. ↘ 0.15%. The initial rollout remains restricted, with broader access planned for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise users over the coming days.cnbc+2

Microsoft shares have underperformed the broader market this year, with the stock heading for a weekly decline as of Friday.stocktwits