OpenAI Claims GPT-6 Astra Designed Hardware Device in Under a Week
OpenAI demonstrated GPT-6 Astra's capabilities in physical engineering, claiming the model independently designed a hardware device from enclosure and PCB layout to firmware in under a week. Although prototype manufacturing required multiple revisions to address production constraints, this case marks significant progress in end-to-end automated hardware design by large models.
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OpenAI says GPT-6 Astra designed a hardware device from scratch in under a week
[Matthias Bastian](https://the-decoder.com/author/matthias-bastian/) [View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-bastian-128b71b1/) Nov 3, 2026 OpenAI's hardware team reportedly used GPT-6 Astra to design a device that lets users talk to the Codex coding agent, finishing it as a side project in under a week. According to OpenAI, Astra handled every step, from enclosure design and PCB layout with component selection and trace routing to firmware and the user interface. A contract manufacturer then produced a small batch of prototypes in under a month, though several revision rounds were needed because Astra didn't always account for manufacturing constraints, tolerances, and assembly details.
OpenAI is also touting a big 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 hasn't shared any details about the internal model.
OpenAI says its hardware teams use Codex and ChatGPT for CAD models, manufacturing drawings, and simulations across areas like robotics and compute infrastructure, with token usage growing 23x since February. OpenAI is also building its own hardware device, reportedly something between an AI speaker and a smartphone.