OpenAI has temporarily suspended new subscriptions for its Pro plan, priced at $200 per month, in response to heavy demand for its newest AI model, Astra. The company cited infrastructure strain as the primary reason for this decision. Thibault Sottiaux, OpenAI’s product lead for core offerings including Codex and ChatGPT, announced the pause on the social platform X, explaining that the Pro tier imposes the greatest load on their systems.
Sottiaux emphasized that this step was taken to maintain broad access to OpenAI’s services while ensuring quality for existing users. Other subscription options, such as the API access and lower-cost Go and Plus plans, remain available.
Earlier in the week, OpenAI had warned that such a measure might be necessary due to the unprecedented demand for Astra. The model, launched on September 3, is being integrated across multiple OpenAI plans including Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. Astra is designed to significantly advance AI capabilities in reasoning, coding, and computer interaction, positioning it as a notable development in the AI field.
OpenAI has not disclosed how long the Pro plan sign-up pause will last or provided specific figures on the volume of new subscriptions. The company recently increased usage limits for Codex, indicating that the current infrastructure pressure is a recent development. The decision to pause new Pro subscriptions reflects OpenAI’s priority to maintain service quality amid rapid growth and high user demand for its latest AI technology.