Editorial illustration for OpenAI API token usage rises from 6 bn to 15 bn per minute, straining compute
OpenAI API Token Usage Surges to 15 Billion per Minute
Demand for OpenAI’s models is currently measured in explosions. Its API now processes 15 billion tokens every minute. Five months ago, that figure was 6 billion.
The company’s CFO, Sarah Friar, has a grim new job. She spends her days trying to find more computing power in a market that has run dry. Projects inside OpenAI are being postponed or killed outright because the chips to run them do not exist.
The problem started in January, when developers began building AI agents. These autonomous programs burn through tokens like nothing before, forcing providers to impose strict usage limits to keep their systems from collapsing.
Token usage across OpenAI's API jumped from 6 billion per minute in October to 15 billion per minute by the end of March, according to the WSJ.
The entire industry is now defined by scarcity. Outages are common. GPU prices are soaring.
The frantic search for capacity is reshaping which tools get built, favoring those that can somehow do more with less. This isn't a temporary shortage. It is a structural fact.
The ambition of software has permanently outstripped the physical hardware required to run it. The next phase of AI will be written not in code, but in rationing.
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Common Questions Answered
How much has OpenAI's API token usage increased between October and March?
OpenAI's API token usage surged from 6 billion tokens per minute in October to 15 billion tokens per minute by the end of March. This dramatic increase represents more than a 150% growth in just five months, putting significant strain on the company's computational infrastructure.
What challenges is OpenAI facing due to the massive increase in token usage?
OpenAI is experiencing frequent infrastructure outages and is being forced to ration access to its services to keep key customers online. The company's CFO, Sarah Friar, is spending considerable time searching for near-term compute capacity and making difficult decisions about which projects to postpone due to resource constraints.
How is the current GPU market affecting OpenAI's operations?
The graphics processing unit (GPU) market has tightened significantly, driving prices upward and squeezing profit margins for AI companies. This scarcity of computational resources is forcing providers like OpenAI to implement new limits and carefully manage their available compute capacity.
Further Reading
- OpenAI's API Hits 15 Billion Tokens Per Minute as GPT-5.4 — Business Analytics Substack
- OpenAI’s APIs processed 6 billion tokens per minute in October 2025. By April this year, that had risen to 15 billion — Exponential View Substack
- Accelerating the next phase of AI — OpenAI
- We are growing revenue four times faster than the companies who defined the internet and mobile eras, OpenAI says it's making $2 billion a month — mostly from enterprise users — TechRadar
