OpenAI Announces Plan to Phase Out GPT-4.5, Its Largest AI Model

OpenAI has opened the door for phasing out its largest-ever AI model, GPT-4.5, internally code named Orion. Released in late February, GPT-4.5 was trained using unprecedented computing power and a vast amount of data, setting a new benchmark for the company’s AI offerings. Even with all its improvements over the last version, GPT-4.0 still hasn’t gotten to “frontier-level” performance. On a number of industry standards, it has underperformed.

The announcement to deprecate GPT-4.5 follows OpenAI’s consideration of future plans for offering the model through its API. The company has made clear that developers will have to move to different models in its catalog after July 14. Indeed, this change fits into a larger trend from OpenAI to signal that they’re focused on developing models that come next.

GPT-4.5 is now available through Open AI’s API and in research preview for paid customers using ChatGPT. The pricing structure reflects the model’s advanced capabilities, costing $75 for every million input tokens and $150 for output tokens. As one of OpenAI’s most expensive to operate offerings, it has been very costly to keep running, leading the company to decide that it cannot operate in the long-term.

On the actual performance side, GPT-4.5 shows significantly better overall writing and persuasiveness than the previous model. OpenAI spokespersons have pointed out that GPT-4.1 achieves the same or better performance in these essential areas. Better yet, it does so at a fraction of the cost. This newfound emphasis marks a departure from OpenAI’s commitment to prioritize performance, that is, accuracy, creativity, etc., over cost-effectiveness.

“We will be deprecating GPT-4.5 to prioritize building future models.” – OpenAI spokesperson

The release of GPT-4.5 was a crowning achievement for OpenAI. It required more computing power and data than any prior release, demonstrating a wide leap in capabilities. The decision to phase it out reflects the company’s strategy to continuously evolve its technology while ensuring accessibility and affordability for developers.