GPT-4o's Viral Success Overwhelms OpenAI's GPU Supply, Forcing Feature Slowdown

San Francisco, CA – OpenAI found itself in an unprecedented scramble to keep up with demand recently, as its new GPT-4o image generator went explosively viral. The tool, capable of churning out everything from Ghibli-style memes to intricate visuals, attracted a staggering one million new users in under an hour, pushing OpenAI's infrastructure to its limits.

The sudden, massive influx of activity placed immense strain on the company's GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) supply, critical hardware for processing AI tasks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman openly acknowledged the challenge, admitting the company had to slow down feature rollouts and even borrow computing power from its research division just to keep GPT-4o operational. Users experienced temporary rate limits as the platform grappled with overloaded systems.

Altman described the situation as truly unique, noting that very few, if any, other companies have ever had to manage such intense and rapid viral spikes in demand. He emphasized that image generation with GPT-4o is incredibly compute-intensive, a demand that OpenAI's existing GPU inventory simply couldn't meet.

Despite the significant hurdles, Altman affirmed OpenAI's commitment to both managing high user demand and continuing the development of its cutting-edge AI. In an effort to better manage scale and ensure traceability, the company is also considering watermarking AI-generated images created by free users. The incident highlights the delicate balance between rapid innovation and the underlying computational power required to sustain it.