Three mysterious aurora-red/green/blue-alpha models appear in OpenAI API
On October 18, multiple users and third-party tracking tools discovered three unpublished model identifiers in the OpenAI API: aurora-blue-alpha, aurora-green-alpha, and aurora-red-alpha, with their purpose and performance unknown.
Confirmed
- The three unreleased model identifiers aurora-blue-alpha, aurora-green-alpha, and aurora-red-alpha have appeared in the OpenAI API, reported by multiple users including @scaling01.
- A third-party model tracker built by z-AI also lists these three models under the "New OpenAI Models" category.
- Background clue: aurora-related model records appeared on OpenRouter earlier this year.
Unconfirmed
- According to a tip from @imjustnewatai, OpenAI will announce a new model next week, though the poster admits not knowing what it is—credibility to be verified.
- No information is available on the specific product form, performance, or pricing of the three models.
Why it matters
- Internal codenames appearing in APIs often precede new model launches. Combined with the "next week" rumor, this hints OpenAI may have something new coming soon—worth keeping an eye on official announcements.
2026-10-18 ~ 2026-10-18 · 6 related posts
Primary sources
- Rumor: OpenAI to reveal new model next week, 'aurora' alpha variants spotted — imjustnewatai · 2026-10-18
- [source] Mystery aurora-blue/green/red-alpha models spotted in the OpenAI API — scaling01 · 2026-10-18
- [source] Tracker exposes three unreleased OpenAI models: aurora-blue, red and green alpha — lyraxana · 2026-10-18
3 near-duplicate retellings: scaling01 · thesaraharminta · BLCNYY