OpenAI Pauses High-Tier Subscriptions Amid Astra Demand
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Infrastructure strain forces the AI lab to halt sign-ups for its $200-per-month Pro plan.
OpenAI has temporarily disabled sign-ups for its $200-per-month Pro subscription plan due to unprecedented demand for its latest model, Astra. According to reporting from TechCrunch, the company cited significant strain on its infrastructure as the primary driver for the pause.
Thibault (Tibo) Sottiaux, the product leader responsible for ChatGPT and Codex, announced the move on X, stating that the Pro tier puts the most pressure on OpenAI's systems. Sottiaux noted that while the company has experienced steep growth in the past, the demand for Astra is unlike anything seen previously. He indicated that the priority is maintaining service quality for current users, though he did not specify the duration of the pause or provide daily sign-up figures.
Launched on September 3, Astra was marketed by OpenAI as a generational leap and the start of the "AGI era," promising advancements in computer use, coding, and AI reasoning. While the Pro plan is currently unavailable to new users, TechCrunch reports that other tiers—including the API, as well as the Plus and Go plans—remain open. This capacity crunch comes shortly after OpenAI increased usage limits for Codex users last month.