OpenAI details physical hardware engineering with GPT-6 Astra and BenchCAD 2.0

OpenAI shared results on 3 November 2026 from applying ChatGPT, Codex and GPT-6 Astra to mechanical design, circuit boards, firmware and engineering simulations. Internally, OpenAI’s robotics and compute infrastructure teams use the models to build and revise computer-aided design (CAD) files, draft manufacturing drawings and configure simulations, pushing hardware-team token consumption up 23 times since February 2026.

To test end-to-end multimodal and computer-use workflows without direct human edits, two OpenAI team members used GPT-6 Astra as a side project to specify requirements and design a handheld voice device for talking to Codex, inspired by OpenAI’s Work Louder collaboration. In under a week, Astra designed the external aesthetics, mechanical enclosure, internal mounting ribs, component selection, printed circuit board layout, firmware and user interface. A contract manufacturer produced working prototypes in under a month, though preparing the files for factory production still required human review across assembly details, tolerances and manufacturing limits.

Benchmarks and industry collaborations

To track spatial and electrical reasoning, OpenAI introduced BenchCAD 2.0, an evaluation covering 3D part and assembly reconstruction alongside circuit-board connection tracing. A newer unnamed internal OpenAI model scored 0.875 on average, ahead of 0.594 for GPT-6 Astra at its highest reasoning setting.

Externally, OpenAI expanded its collaboration with Chip Ganassi Racing to convert 3D scans of legacy race-car parts without original CAD files into editable 3D models and 2D shop drawings. OpenAI also announced a research partnership with Mazda Motor Corporation, pairing forward-deployed engineers with Mazda’s aerodynamics and crash-safety teams to model nose geometries and simulate vehicle airflow to cut drag. OpenAI opened a collaboration intake form for external engineering teams and CAD software vendors, with no standalone pricing changes.