OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company is facing a significant GPU shortage, leading to a staggered rollout of its latest AI model, GPT-4.5. In a post on X, Altman described GPT-4.5 as a massive and expensive model requiring tens of thousands of additional GPUs before it can be made available to more users.
Currently, only ChatGPT Pro subscribers have access, with ChatGPT Plus users expected to receive it next week. Due to its size and computational demands, GPT-4.5 comes with a hefty price tag—OpenAI is charging $75 per million tokens for input and $150 per million tokens for output, making it far more expensive than the widely used GPT-4o model.
Altman acknowledged that OpenAI has been struggling to predict growth surges, which has contributed to the GPU shortage. He assured users that the company plans to add tens of thousands of GPUs in the coming week to expand access.
The shortage isn’t a new challenge for OpenAI, as Altman has previously cited a lack of computing resources as a major constraint on product development. To address this, OpenAI is working on developing its own AI chips and investing in a large-scale network of data centers to reduce reliance on external hardware providers.
Despite these efforts, the high cost of running advanced AI models continues to raise concerns about accessibility and scalability. Some experts question whether such expensive models will be sustainable in the long run.
Meanwhile, OpenAI remains focused on expanding its infrastructure to meet growing demand, but the GPU bottleneck highlights the ongoing challenges of scaling AI technology.
