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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Science
Jim Manzon

Experts Warn OpenAI's Free AI for 100,000 Scientists Is a Quiet Land Grab on the Future of Research

OpenAI's $250 million research effort gives scientists free access to GPT-5.6 Sol Pro, its top model, through 2027 (Credit: Jernej Furman/WikiMedia Commons)

OpenAI is giving 100,000 scientists free access to its most powerful artificial intelligence, a perk worth $200 (£150) a month. Yet analysts warn the offer is less charity than strategy, quietly routing the future of research through one private company.

The company launched ChatGPT for Academic Researchers on Thursday, giving selected faculty and postdoctoral scientists free use of GPT-5.6 Sol Pro, its top publicly available model. Applications opened the same day. The first 10,000 users start this summer at institutions including the Institute for Advanced Study and France's École Normale Supérieure, with the rollout reaching 100,000 through 2027.

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