OpenAI’s newest models are headed to Google Cloud. On Wednesday, October 21, the two companies announced OpenAI on Google Cloud: GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna are coming to Google Cloud’s Model Garden, sold through Google Cloud Marketplace and paid for out of the cloud budgets companies have already committed to Google. Google says the three models are rolling out now in a private preview for select enterprise customers. OpenAI says general availability is “planned in the coming weeks.”
The deal puts OpenAI’s models on all three of the big US clouds, less than six months after Microsoft lost its exclusive license to OpenAI’s technology. Once it’s generally available, companies that run on Google Cloud won’t need a separate OpenAI contract to use GPT-6. What neither company has published yet is the price.
- Price: Google Cloud hasn’t published prices for the OpenAI models. Bought direct from OpenAI, Astra costs $10/$50 per million input/output tokens, GPT-6.1 Sol $2/$10 and Luna $0.10/$0.50.
- Availability: private preview for select enterprise customers in Model Garden, per Google (October 21). OpenAI says general availability is planned “in the coming weeks,” with no date.
- Billing: through Google Cloud Marketplace, on one Google invoice, drawing down existing Google Cloud commitments.
- The catch: no price list, no launch date, and Google’s zero-data-retention and Confidential Compute options are “coming soon,” not live.
What OpenAI on Google Cloud includes so far
Google’s announcement, written by Michael Gerstenhaber, Google Cloud’s vice president of product management for Gemini, names three models. Google describes Astra as built for demanding work in coding, computer use and scientific research, GPT-6.1 Sol as near-Astra intelligence at a lower cost, and Luna as the fast, cost-efficient model for everyday work. Google says that starting today, customers can build with the models through its APIs and point the Codex CLI and Codex desktop app at Google’s platform for inference.
OpenAI’s post says its models will also “soon” appear in Google Antigravity, Google’s agentic coding tool, and in the Gemini Agent; Google’s post names Gemini for business and Antigravity as coming soon. They aren’t there yet. Antigravity’s model page still lists one OpenAI model on Wednesday, the open-weight GPT-OSS 120B, and marks it for removal on November 2. Neither company has said which regions get the GPT-6 models first or what rate limits apply.
What GPT-6 costs direct, and what Google hasn’t priced
OpenAI’s own API prices are the only published numbers. Each model page charges double for input and 50% more for output, on the whole request, once a prompt passes 272,000 input tokens.
| OpenAI API, per 1M tokens (checked Oct 21) | Input | Cached input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-6 Astra | $10 | $1 | $50 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2 | $0.10 | $10 |
| GPT-6 Luna | $0.10 | $0.01 | $0.50 |
Google Cloud’s generative AI pricing page, checked again Wednesday afternoon, lists OpenAI’s open-weight gpt-oss-120b at $0.09 in and $0.36 out per million tokens, plus gpt-oss-20b, and nothing for GPT-6. Amazon set a precedent: when GPT-5.6 models went generally available on Bedrock in July, it said pricing “matches OpenAI first-party rates.” Google hasn’t said whether it will do the same. It does say OpenAI spending counts toward its Flexible Savings Plans, which may matter more to a big Google customer than the list price.
GPT-6.1 Sol: near-Astra intelligence for a fifth of the price.
It’s the most cost-efficient model for its performance available today. pic.twitter.com/hH8PnE2Oxk
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 29, 2026
Video: OpenAI. GPT-6.1 Sol launch clip from the official OpenAI account on X, September 29, 2026. It predates the Google Cloud deal (watch on X).
Amazon’s playbook, plus Google’s pitch on breadth
Google is following a path Amazon cleared this year. AWS opened a limited preview of OpenAI models and Codex on Bedrock on April 28, rolled out GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4 and Codex in June, made the GPT-5.6 family generally available on July 9 and added GPT-6 Astra on September 8, according to Amazon’s running announcement. Google’s version starts where Amazon’s did in April, as a preview.
Google is selling breadth. It says it’s now the only hyperscale cloud offering all three leading closed models, Gemini, Claude and GPT, next to more than 200 others in Model Garden. “We are focused on giving customers a broad selection of models, including those from OpenAI, so they can choose the right model for any given job,” Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud’s CEO, said in OpenAI’s post. Microsoft isn’t out of the picture: “Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner,” OpenAI wrote.
For regulated companies, Google says prompts and outputs stay inside the customer’s data perimeter and aren’t used to train foundation models, and that the OpenAI models run on dedicated Google Cloud infrastructure. Zero data retention and Confidential Compute are both listed as coming soon.
Google’s post names one early customer. Box, the cloud content company, plans to offer OpenAI’s models to its own users through Google Cloud. “By using OpenAI models through Google Cloud, we will be able to give customers access to OpenAI’s frontier AI models alongside Google Cloud’s security and compliance capabilities,” said Yashodha Bhavnani, Box’s vice president of AI products.
What to watch before general availability
Three things will tell you whether this matters for your bill: a Google price list for GPT-6 that either matches OpenAI’s rates or doesn’t, a general-availability date, and the OpenAI models showing up in Antigravity. CNBC notes that Google, Amazon and Microsoft all report quarterly results next week, the next chance to hear their executives talk about the deal. Companies that want in now can join the preview through OpenAI’s interest form. We’ll update this story and our LLM News feed when Google publishes prices.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use GPT-6 on Google Cloud?
Only if you’re in the preview for now. Google says GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna are rolling out in a private preview to select enterprise customers in Model Garden, and OpenAI says general availability is planned in the coming weeks. Other customers can register interest through a form on OpenAI’s site.
How much does OpenAI on Google Cloud cost?
Google hasn’t published prices yet. Its pricing page lists only OpenAI’s open-weight gpt-oss models. Direct from OpenAI, GPT-6 Astra costs $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, GPT-6.1 Sol $2 and $10, and GPT-6 Luna $0.10 and $0.50. Purchases on Google go through Google Cloud Marketplace and draw down existing Google Cloud commitments.
Can I use Codex with Google Cloud?
Google says customers can connect the Codex CLI and Codex desktop app to its platform for inference starting October 21, 2026. OpenAI says its models will also come to Google Antigravity and the Gemini Agent soon, but neither company has given a date.
Is OpenAI leaving Microsoft Azure?
No. OpenAI’s announcement says Microsoft remains its primary cloud partner. Google Cloud is the third big US cloud to sell OpenAI models, after Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, which opened its own preview in April 2026.
Sources
- OpenAI, “OpenAI models are coming to Google Cloud” (October 21, 2026; Model Garden, Marketplace and commitments, Antigravity and Gemini Agent “soon,” general availability “in the coming weeks,” Greg Brockman and Thomas Kurian quotes, Microsoft line): openai.com/index/openai-models-google-cloud
- Google Cloud Blog, Michael Gerstenhaber, “Google Cloud brings OpenAI models to customers” (October 21, 2026; models, private preview, Codex CLI and desktop, single invoice, Flexible Savings Plans, data perimeter, ZDR and Confidential Compute “coming soon,” Gemini for business and Antigravity “coming soon,” Box quote): cloud.google.com/blog
- OpenAI, “OpenAI on Google Cloud: Request preview access”: openai.com/form/openai-on-google-cloud
- OpenAI API model pages for GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna (input, cached input and output prices; 272,000-token long-prompt rule)
- Google Cloud, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform generative AI pricing (OpenAI section lists gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b only): cloud.google.com
- Google Antigravity Docs, “Choose a model” (GPT-OSS 120B listed, removal on November 2, 2026): antigravity.google/docs/models
- Amazon, “GPT-6 Astra from OpenAI is now available on Amazon Bedrock” (running post with the April 28, June, July 9 and September 8, 2026 updates; “Pricing matches OpenAI first-party rates”): aboutamazon.com
- Jordan Novet, CNBC, “OpenAI to bring AI models to Google’s cloud, in further expansion beyond Microsoft” (October 21, 2026, 8:00 AM ET; earnings timing): cnbc.com
- @OpenAI on X, GPT-6.1 Sol launch video (September 29, 2026): x.com/OpenAI/status/2104986129686741046
All sources accessed October 21, 2026, between about 8:45 and 9:00 AM ET. Google’s pricing page, the Google and OpenAI posts, OpenAI’s model pages and Antigravity’s model list rechecked between about 2:30 and 2:45 PM ET the same day.
Last updated: October 21, 2026. To report an error, see our corrections page. Articles are drafted with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by an editor; see our editorial policy.
