OpenAI is offering $1 billion in subsidized access to its cybersecurity models over the next six months, shortly after revealing that its Astra system can uncover previously unknown software vulnerabilities and turn them into functional attacks without detailed human guidance.

The company said Thursday that the initiative is intended to help organizations strengthen their defenses against AI-powered cyberattacks, including potential zero-day exploits created by increasingly capable AI systems.

Zero-day exploits target security flaws that have not yet been discovered or patched by software developers, allowing attackers to take advantage of them before a fix is available.

The $1 billion commitment does not represent a traditional grant or investment fund. Instead, OpenAI will provide discounted access to Daybreak, its cybersecurity platform launched earlier this year, together with training and technical support.

Daybreak is offered through two tiers. Blue uses OpenAI’s standard models for routine security operations, while Red gives approved organizations access to specialized cybersecurity models for more sensitive work. OpenAI said about 2,000 organizations are already using the platform.

Priority will be given to critical infrastructure and public-interest organizations, including water and wastewater systems, electricity-grid operators, state and local governments, community and regional banks, nonprofits and open-source software maintainers.

Crypto exchanges, custodians and blockchain protocols were not specifically named in the announcement. Still, open-source projects that underpin the crypto industry could fall within the broader group of organizations that may benefit from stronger security tools.

Bitcoin Core, Ethereum clients and software libraries supporting DeFi applications are maintained by relatively small development teams and volunteers, even though the code helps protect billions of dollars in digital assets.

Astra Signals a New AI Cybersecurity Threat

The push comes shortly after OpenAI disclosed Astra’s ability to find previously unknown software weaknesses and convert them into working exploits without a human directing every stage of the process.

That capability could significantly alter the cybersecurity landscape. Finding and exploiting sophisticated vulnerabilities has traditionally required specialized researchers or highly skilled hacking teams. Advanced AI could increasingly automate parts of that process.

Eligible organizations can apply for subsidized Daybreak access through the platform’s website. OpenAI said it plans to expand the program to partner countries in the coming weeks.

Crypto Infrastructure Under Pressure

The initiative also comes as several recent incidents have highlighted security weaknesses across crypto infrastructure.

In August, a vulnerability in BTCPay Server, an open-source platform used by merchants to accept Bitcoin payments, exposed credentials connected to Lightning nodes. Attackers exploited the flaw and drained funds before developers released a patch.

Core Lightning, one of the leading software implementations for running Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, later advised operators to disconnect their machines after a series of AI-generated vulnerability reports uncovered multiple legitimate flaws.

Coldcard, a hardware wallet designed for offline Bitcoin storage, separately issued new firmware after a $114 million theft. The company said advanced AI models helped identify other bugs that were unrelated to the original security incident.

The incidents have intensified concerns that AI could give attackers powerful new ways to identify weaknesses while the teams responsible for securing critical crypto infrastructure lack comparable defensive tools.

More than 30 companies, including Coinbase, Block, BitGo, Blockstream and ARK Invest, have signed an open letter calling on AI laboratories to provide security organizations with early access to their most capable models.

The companies argued that AI labs are carefully screening who receives access to their strongest systems, while attackers may still find ways to obtain similar capabilities.

That creates a potential imbalance in which developers protecting Bitcoin and other open-source networks are defending billions of dollars in value with less sophisticated AI tools than those available to their adversaries.

OpenAI’s Daybreak initiative aims to reduce that gap by expanding access to advanced AI-powered defenses as automated vulnerability discovery and exploitation become increasingly sophisticated.