OpenAI Pauses New Pro Subscriptions as Astra Demand Strains Infrastructure

Sottiaux, who leads core products including Codex and ChatGPT, said the Pro tier places the greatest load on OpenAI's systems, which is why sign-ups for that service tier are now disabled. He said the company wanted "to take the smallest step that allows us to continue giving the broadest access possible."

Other OpenAI plans, including the API and the lower-cost Go and Plus tiers, remain available, Sottiaux said. OpenAI did not say how long new Pro sign-ups would be disabled or how many people are signing up daily, leaving the scale of demand unclear.

The company had warned on Wednesday that such a change might come. Sottiaux wrote then, "Demand for Astra is really unprecedented. 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. Priority will always be to keep excellent service for existing users, but we might have to pause new Pro subscriptions for a bit if this continues."

OpenAI raised usage limits for Codex users as recently as last month, suggesting the strain is a recent phenomenon. Launched on September 3, Astra has been rolling out across OpenAI's plans, including Pro, Plus, Enterprise and Business accounts. The model promises a major leap forward in areas such as AI reasoning, coding and computer use, all areas of steep competition. OpenAI heralded Astra as the beginning of the "AGI era" and a generational leap, stoking demand further.

Editor's Summary

OpenAI has temporarily stopped new sign-ups for its $200-a-month Pro plan because demand for the newly launched Astra model is straining its infrastructure. The company said existing users remain the priority and that other plans, including API, Go and Plus, are still available. OpenAI has not said how long the pause will last or how many users are trying to subscribe.