March 21, 2025

OpenAI officially released its new reasoning AI model, ‘o1-pro,’ through developer API on March 19. This advanced version of the existing ‘o1’ model features enhanced reasoning capabilities and deep problem-solving capacities, but has garnered attention for its unprecedented high pricing in the industry.

Revolutionary Performance at Shocking Prices

According to reports from TechCrunch and other technology media outlets, o1-pro is offered at an astonishing price of $150 per million input tokens and $600 per million output tokens. This makes it twice as expensive as OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 and ten times more costly than the standard o1 model.

“O1-pro is an upgraded version of o1 that uses more computing power to think more deeply and provide better answers to the most difficult problems,” explained an OpenAI spokesperson. This premium pricing strategy appears targeted at professional developers and enterprises willing to invest in cutting-edge AI research and technology.

Technical Innovation and Performance Improvements

O1-pro has achieved technical advancement by utilizing the ‘chain-of-thought’ training method. This approach helps the model solve complex problems step-by-step by including a longer reasoning process before generating responses. This method significantly enhances the model’s fact-checking and unreliable information detection capabilities, reducing the likelihood of providing incorrect information.

Key performance improvements include:

• Expanded Context Window: Increased from 128K tokens in o1-preview to 200K tokens
• Image Processing Capabilities: Added image analysis capabilities not available in previous o1 models
• Enhanced Accuracy: Achieved 81.3% in self-evaluation tests, significantly higher than GPT-4’s 51.2%
• Reduced Hallucinations: Hallucination rate decreased from 61% to 44% in SimpleQA tests
• Extended Computation Time: Provides deeper thinking processes for complex problem-solving

The model has demonstrated exceptional performance particularly in legal analysis, data science, and programming fields. In actual user tests, while o1 answered a space data center design problem in just 11 seconds, o1-pro took 1 minute and 12 seconds, indicating a deeper thought process.

Limited Access and Expert Targeting

Currently, o1-pro is available only to a select group of developers who have spent at least $5 on OpenAI API services. This selective approach appears to be a strategy to collect feedback and improve model performance before a wider release.

OpenAI has stated that this model is primarily designed for advanced users such as researchers, engineers, and data scientists. Access to o1-pro is available through a Pro subscription plan at $200 per month, which is ten times more expensive than the existing Plus plan ($20 per month).

Market Reaction and Challenges

Market reaction to the o1-pro launch has been mixed. While there is praise for the breakthrough improvements in reasoning and problem-solving capabilities, there are also responses like “Great performance, but the price is too burdensome.” This high price barrier is expected to impact the model’s adoption rate and market penetration.

Analysts interpret this launch as a strategic move by OpenAI to recover AI technology development costs and build a sustainable business model. However, some experts suggest that OpenAI should consider creating an intermediate price tier that provides enhanced features without the full cost of the Pro model.

Practical Use Cases and Potential

O1-pro holds potential for application across various specialized fields:

• Research and Academia: Paper writing, data analysis, solving complex scientific problems
• Data Analysis: Improved efficiency in complex data sets and statistical analysis
• Software Development: Enhanced speed and quality in code writing and debugging
• Legal Field: Providing detailed and contextually accurate analysis for complex legal questions

The model’s systematic approach was also confirmed in marketing strategy tests, showing distinct quality differences from standard models in content strategy analysis for social media channels.

Future Outlook

OpenAI’s launch of o1-pro has opened a new chapter in AI reasoning model competition. While setting new standards for high-performance AI, it faces the challenge of accessibility issues due to high pricing.

There is a possibility that OpenAI may offer mid-range solutions or adjust pricing policies in the future to expand accessibility to a wider user base. Additionally, if competitors release models with similar performance at more affordable prices, o1-pro’s market position could face challenges.

Experts predict that this launch will be an important milestone in the continuous development and commercialization of AI technology, with significant impact on the market, especially at a time when demand for advanced reasoning capabilities is increasing.