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WTF?! OpenAI is considering a significant increase in its premium subscription fees, potentially adding a couple of zeros. ChatGPT subscriptions currently cost $20 per month, but that figure could rise to $2,000. It's yet unclear whether this would apply monthly, annually, or if it represents an entirely new tier for access to next-gen AI capabilities. The move may also be aimed at stabilizing the company financially amid rumors of economic difficulties.
Anonymous sources told The Information that OpenAI is mulling over a $2,000 subscription for access to its advanced AI models. The subscription term remains unspecified – it could range from monthly to yearly. Regardless, this would represent a massive leap from the current $20 per month for ChatGPT Plus, which offers benefits like priority access, custom AI assistants, the DALL-E 3 image generator, and other advanced features.
The proposed price increase may be tied to OpenAI's development of new, more powerful AI models designed to tackle complex reasoning tasks beyond the reach of current language models. One of these models, codenamed "Strawberry," aims to handle multi-step problems, such as intricate mathematical equations, that traditionally require human-level cognition.
To achieve this, OpenAI plans to use novel post-training techniques, enabling AI models to refine themselves based on human feedback and real-world data. Additionally, Strawberry will help generate high-quality data for an even more advanced language model, dubbed "Orion." Strawberry could debut as early as this fall.
Developing such sophisticated AI models comes with steep costs. ChatGPT Premium was projected to generate around $2 billion annually, but even that may fall short of covering the astronomical computing expenses required to develop and maintain these systems. Current estimates suggest it costs OpenAI approximately $700,000 per day just to run the existing ChatGPT.
OpenAI could face bankruptcy if it doesn't address its financial challenges. Reports from July indicate that the company might lose $5 billion this year, and without additional capital, it could run out of cash within 12 months. Charging premium prices for cutting-edge AI access could be a long-term solution, though it risks reducing demand.
This situation is particularly ironic given ChatGPT's recent success in attracting users. The platform now boasts over 200 million weekly active users, with more than 1 million businesses subscribing to its tiers. Yet, the business continues to hemorrhage money.
If OpenAI introduces the rumored $2,000 subscription, it could mark a major shift, reserving the most advanced generative AI for enterprises. Whether that philosophical shift aligns with OpenAI's stated mission "to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity" remains to be seen.