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Why this matters: OpenAI has confirmed that the slow response time of ChatGPT is due to a shortage of processing power. The company is scrambling for thousands of GPUs to be installed by next week. Hundreds of thousands more are expected to follow. “coming soon.” Meanwhile, the shortage has caused the company to slow down the release of GPT 4.5. OpenAI has just released GPT 4.5, but the average user won’t be able to access it yet. The model is only available to Pro subscribers who pay $200/month. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the model was intended to be released simultaneously for Plus and Pro subscriptions. A shortage of GPUs forced the company, however, to stagger their release.
GPT 4.5 is ready!
Good news: It is the first model I feel like I am talking to a thoughtful human being. I have sat in my chair and marveled at the fact that an AI can give me good advice.
Bad news: It is a huge, expensive model. We…
Sam Altman (@sama).””https://twitter.com/sama/status/1895203654103351462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw””> February 27, 2025
ChatGPT users have been experiencing slow response times with the GPT-4o Model in recent weeks. Altman stated that the platform had grown significantly and didn’t have enough processing power to support all its users. This made the launch of “giant, expensive” GPT 4.5 problematic.
Openai has “tens of thousands” GPUs that technicians will install in the next week. The company can then complete the rollout of Plus users. Altman is confident that the company will not be able to meet its capacity with “hundreds of thousands” GPUs.
“Hundreds of thousands [of GPUs are] coming soon, and I’m pretty sure y’all will use every one we can rack up,” the CEO said. “This isn’t how we want to operate, but it’s hard to perfectly predict growth surges that lead to GPU shortages.”
We have all felt the effects of these shortages, and it’s one of the reasons that OpenAI wants to branch into chip development. Last July, the company reportedly held talks with Broadcom about designing AI chips and reducing its reliance on Nvidia. The talks must have been very productive since insiders say OpenAI is prepared to send TSMC a custom chip design for validation within the next few months. If all goes well, mass production will begin in 2026.
that GPT-4.5, OpenAI’s newest AI, is not a reasoning algorithm, and users shouldn’t expect it to blow benchmarks away. Altman does find a certain “magic” in the intelligence.
“It is the first model that feels like talking to a thoughtful person to me,” Altman touted. “I have had several moments where I’ve sat back in my chair and been astonished at getting actually good advice from an AI.”
I would not pay for an AI to give me advice at this stage. OpenAI is gaining momentum. Pricing is the sweet spot. The Plus tier costs $20 per month. This is not bad, but it does not have unlimited access like the $200 Pro version. The free tier gives users unlimited access to GPT-4o Mini, which is sufficient for most average users. OpenAI would be more attractive to casual users if Plus subscriptions were $15 or less.
