Token prices continue to fall, triggering monetization anxiety: OpenAI tightens subscription quotas, chat and programming sharing quotas

The Zhitong Finance App learned that OpenAI announced a shared usage quota for users of ChatGPT and Codex tools, effective on December 31. The company is seeking to tighten the overall fee structure for its AI software.

According to a recent blog post, this adjustment applies to Plus, Pro, and Business plans, and chatting in Instant mode won't consume shared credits. For users talking in ChatGPT and programming in Codex, these two types of activities will now collectively consume the same remaining credit.

This change is part of a broader effort to integrate Work's agent functionality into ChatGPT itself.

OpenAI's Work is an AI agent designed to perform complex multi-step professional tasks; Codex is its programming AI agent; and Instant is OpenAI's fast-response AI model, designed for everyday queries.

This move comes at a time when AI token prices continue to fall. This makes usage and monetization increasingly important, and raises questions about the intensity of AI demand.

According to data from fee management company Ramp, as of October 20, the token price had fallen to about $0.59 per million tokens, down 35% since the end of June. Despite this, AI companies insist that token usage is growing.

AI sell-off raises concerns

OpenAI is preparing to sell shares to the public, and its competitor Anthropic may be the first to go public. However, concerns about AI investment and returns triggered a sharp correction in AI-related technology stocks last month. Prior to these AI Labs' IPOs, market skepticism continued to heat up.

People familiar with the matter revealed that as some investors cut subscription amounts, OpenAI lowered the target of the ongoing private equity round from US$30 billion to US$20 billion.

OpenAI CEO Meets Samsung and SK Hynix Executives

OpenAI CEO Sam Ultrman paid a low-key visit to South Korea last weekend, met with Samsung executives, and reportedly held talks with SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won.

According to information provided by Samsung, the talks covered the development of AI, potential business opportunities, and the impact of this technology on corporate decisions and operations.

Allegedly, OpenAI is planning to launch a large-scale policy and PR campaign immediately after the US midterm elections to try to align with the new Washington lawmakers, including efforts to rename the data center “AI Computing Park.”

Polls and election predictions show that the Democratic Party is expected to win control of the House of Representatives in the November 3 election.