The a16z Show · Monday, October 26, 2026
Ari Weinstein and James Sun from OpenAI discussed their latest computer-using model, Astra, noting that it is faster than the average human at computer tasks and can defeat prior models in video games like Fallout. They highlighted that Astra uses fewer thinking tokens and offers greater reliability around the edges compared to previous models.
“We've gotten computer use now to a place where it's faster than the average human. And I think we're getting really close where it is superhuman.”
“One is it is a little bit faster on average because it uses fewer thinking tokens to do the same task.”
“Internally we had Astra play video games against 5.6 and it wins every time.”