AI Generated Image
OpenAI paused its $200 ChatGPT sign-ups as ‘unprecedented’ demand for Astra strains its system
Fortune • • business
Key Points:
- OpenAI has temporarily paused new sign-ups and upgrades to its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan, which includes access to the high-demand Astra feature, due to insufficient system capacity.
- Astra’s advanced “computer use” capability, which allows it to interact with desktops at superhuman speed, significantly increases strain on OpenAI’s infrastructure and burns through usage allowances faster than previous models.
- This is not the first time OpenAI has paused paid subscriptions due to capacity limits; a similar halt occurred in November 2023 after a surge in demand post-developer conference.
- OpenAI has increased its compute capacity nearly tenfold from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to 1.9 gigawatts in 2025 and is expanding hardware partnerships and infrastructure investments to meet growing demand.
- The company plans to further scale capacity with new agreements for Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom AI hardware, aiming for substantial increases starting in the second half of 2026.
