OpenAI has temporarily paused new sign-ups and upgrades for its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan as unprecedented demand for its latest AI model Astra puts additional pressure on the company’s computing infrastructure.
The move comes shortly after Astra became available to paying users following an initial limited rollout for enterprise customers. The model’s growing popularity is reportedly creating capacity challenges, particularly on the highest-priced ChatGPT plan, which provides substantially higher usage limits than the Plus tier.
According to information shared by OpenAI’s product leadership, the decision is intended to manage demand while maintaining service quality for the wider ChatGPT user base. Existing Pro subscribers will continue to have access, while the company works to increase available capacity.
Astra Drives Higher Compute Demand
A key factor behind the pressure is Astra’s advanced capabilities. One of its headline features is “computer use,” which enables the AI system to interact with a computer interface, navigate webpages and complete tasks that would traditionally require direct human interaction.
The model can also consume usage allowances faster than earlier flagship systems, increasing the computing resources required when users undertake complex or extended tasks.
The situation highlights a growing challenge for AI providers: improvements in model capability are also increasing the amount of infrastructure required to serve users at scale. As increasingly sophisticated AI systems move from demonstrations into everyday use, demand for GPUs, data-centre capacity and high-performance computing continues to rise.
OpenAI Has Faced Capacity Constraints Before
This is not the first time OpenAI has had to restrict new subscriptions because of infrastructure pressure. In November 2023, the company temporarily stopped new ChatGPT Plus sign-ups after a sharp increase in usage following its first developer conference.
Since then, OpenAI has significantly expanded its computing resources. Available compute reportedly increased from around 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to approximately 1.9 GW in 2025.
The latest pause, however, underlines how quickly demand can once again outpace infrastructure when a highly capable new model reaches a broader user base.
AI Infrastructure Race Accelerates
OpenAI has been expanding its computing footprint through multiple infrastructure partnerships as demand for AI workloads grows. The company has moved beyond relying solely on Microsoft Azure, adding CoreWeave and pursuing large-scale infrastructure through its Stargate initiative.
Further capacity is expected to come online from the second half of 2026. OpenAI has reportedly committed to large deployments involving Nvidia GPUs, AMD accelerators and custom AI chips developed with Broadcom.
The broader industry is now facing a delicate infrastructure equation. AI companies need enormous amounts of computing capacity to support increasingly capable models, while simultaneously managing the cost, availability and long-term economics of specialised hardware.
OpenAI’s temporary restriction on its highest-priced ChatGPT plan illustrates that even major investments in AI infrastructure may not immediately eliminate capacity bottlenecks.
As AI models become more capable and increasingly perform computer-based tasks autonomously, the next phase of competition may depend not only on model intelligence but also on how effectively companies can scale the underlying compute required to deliver those capabilities to millions of users.
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