OpenAI has disabled new sign-ups for its Pro subscription tier due to overwhelming demand for the Astra model. The company announced the move on X through product leader Thibault (Tibo) Sottiaux, who oversees core products like Codex and ChatGPT. Sottiaux stated that the Pro plan puts the most strain on OpenAI's systems, and the company wanted to take the smallest step possible to continue offering broad access.
OpenAI had warned just a day earlier that pausing Pro subscriptions might become necessary. Sottiaux described demand for Astra as unprecedented, saying he hadn't seen anything like it before, even during previous periods of steep growth. He emphasized that priority would always go to maintaining excellent service for existing users. The company has not specified how long the suspension will last or provided figures on daily sign-up rates.
The Astra model, which launched on September 3, is now rolling out across OpenAI's various plans including Pro, Plus, Enterprise, and Business accounts. OpenAI has positioned Astra as a major leap in AI reasoning, coding, and computer use capabilities, even calling it the beginning of the "AGI era." The company raised usage limits for Codex users as recently as last month, suggesting the infrastructure strain is a recent development. Other plans including the API and lower-cost Go and Plus tiers remain available.