The a16z Show · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
The current demand for compute power is described as a 'model buster,' indicating it's pushing the boundaries of what's possible. This insatiable demand led to OpenAI pausing new subscriptions for its pro plans, highlighting the immense pressure on resources and the prescience of early, large compute commitments.
“Yeah, I mean, maybe to use DG's language, I think we'd all call the demand for compute, a model buster at this point.”
“I think one anecdote that's telling that we've all experienced is Sam Altman, Sarah Fryer, they got a lot of flack a year or so ago for their massive compute commitments.”
“And even so, two weeks ago, we all saw that they had to pause new subscriptions on their pro plans.”
“Pretty amazing, insatiable demand that we're experiencing here.”