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OpenAI Pauses Pro Subscriptions Amid Astra Demand Surge
Confirmed
In Short: OpenAI has temporarily halted sign-ups for its $200-per-month Pro plan due to strain on its infrastructure from high demand for the new Astra model.
OpenAI has put on hold subscriptions for its $200-per-month Pro plan due to the high demand for its newest and most powerful model, Astra, which is putting significant strain on its infrastructure, according to the company’s product leader, Thibault Sottiaux.
The move was announced on X by Thibault Sottiaux, who stated that the Pro plan is the most resource-intensive, leading to the temporary pause in sign-ups. OpenAI hasn’t specified the duration of the pause or the exact number of daily sign-ups, which could give an idea of the scale of the demand.
Launched on September 3, Astra has been integrated into various OpenAI plans, including Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. Sottiaux noted, 'We’re pulling all the levers possible to sustain the demand, but I’ve not seen anything like it until now and we went through very steep growth before.
OpenAI had previously heralded Astra as the beginning of the 'AGI era,' and a generational leap, which has only stoked further demand. The company is currently facing a new legal challenge from two major US news organizations over alleged use of their journalism to train AI systems, which could reduce the need for readers to visit their websites or pay for subscriptions.
What's confirmed
- OpenAI has put on hold subscriptions for its $200-per-month Pro plan due to the high demand for its newest and most powerful model, Astra, which is putting significant strain on its infrastructure, according to the company’s product leader, Thibault Sottiaux.
- The move was announced on X by Thibault Sottiaux, who stated that the Pro plan is the most resource-intensive, leading to the temporary pause in sign-ups. OpenAI hasn’t specified the duration of the pause or the exact number of daily sign-ups, which could give an idea of the scale of the demand.
- Launched on September 3, Astra has been integrated into various OpenAI plans, including Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. Sottiaux noted, 'We’re pulling all the levers possible to sustain the demand, but I’ve not seen anything like it until now and we went through very steep growth before.
- OpenAI had previously heralded Astra as the beginning of the 'AGI era,' and a generational leap, which has only stoked further demand. The company is currently facing a new legal challenge from two major US news organizations over alleged use of their journalism to train AI systems, which could reduce the need for readers to visit their websites or pay for subscriptions.
What's still developing
- Also read: OpenAI AI agents hack German site in undisclosed incident, use it to coordinate and bypass restrictions The publishers also said that their journalism is expensive to produce.
- The news publishers claimed that OpenAI and Microsoft used their content in datasets linked to products such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and AI features in Bing.
- OpenAI rejected the idea that it had acted outside copyright law.