OpenAI paused new Pro subscriptions at $200 due to the pressure Astra is putting on its infrastructure
The product lead at OpenAI indicated that the priority would be to maintain excellent service for existing users. He also anticipated that they might suspend new Pro subscriptions for a period.
OpenAI has not yet reported how long the option to subscribe to the Pro plan will remain disabled.
The company also did not indicate how many people are subscribing daily. For that reason, it did not publicly specify the magnitude of the demand for Astra.
The pressure on the infrastructure comes after OpenAI increased usage limits for Codex users last month.
Astra was introduced on September 3 and began to be incorporated into the various OpenAI plans.
The model is available for Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts, in addition to its integration with the company's artificial intelligence.
OpenAI presented Astra as a significant leap in reasoning, programming, and computer usage capabilities.
The company also defined the launch as the beginning of the “AGI era” and as a generational leap.
OpenAI decided to temporarily suspend new subscriptions to its Pro plan due to the pressure that Astra is generating on its infrastructure.
The company explained that the Pro level is the one that demands the most from its systems. The API, Go, and Plus plans remain available.
The decision was communicated on X by Thibault “Tibo” Sottiaux, product lead at OpenAI and responsible for areas such as Codex and ChatGPT.
Sottiaux explained that the Pro plan places the highest demand on the company's systems. For this reason, new sign-ups were temporarily disabled.
“We wanted to take the smallest step that allows us to continue offering the broadest possible access,” wrote Sottiaux.
The executive added that the other OpenAI plans, including the API and the Go and Plus options, remain available.
The company had already warned on Wednesday that it could take this measure if demand continued to rise.
At that time, Sottiaux had written on X: “The demand for Astra is unprecedented.” He also noted that OpenAI was using all available tools to sustain that level of demand.
