Abstract
Before OpenAI shipped GPT-5.5, the codename “Spud” functioned as a mirror: how a frontier lab’s release decisions expose the structure of capability allocation. This paper examined the signals around the release and their implications for the Global South’s position in the frontier ecosystem.
Why this paper exists
A strategic reading of OpenAI’s then-unreleased “Spud” model: what the next frontier release would reveal about capability concentration, and what it would mean for regions outside the allocation channels.
AIEONME publishes every Strategic Paper bilingually, with a fact-check of every claim against primary sources before release. The full paper, including methodology, sources and limitations, is available as a PDF below.