GPU Limits Imposed After Ghibli Demand Surge
Remember the viral social media craze that saw everyone “Ghiblify” everything, turning it into AI art inspired by the iconic Japanese animation studio? Well, it got so big that ChatGPT’s creators, OpenAI, had to put in place some new rate limits.
Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself got caught up in the fun, posting a Ghibli-style portrait of himself on March 25. But just two days later, in a follow-up post, he announced that the flood of image generation requests was starting to overwhelm their infrastructure.
“It’s super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT but our GPUs are melting,” he explained. “We are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits while we work on making it more efficient.”
Source: Sam Altman
He also added, acknowledging another issue: “Also, we are refusing some generations that should be allowed; we are fixing these as fast we can.”
The surge in Ghibli-inspired images began when OpenAI launched the enhanced image generation capabilities in ChatGPT-4o on March 25th. Almost instantly, social media feeds were flooded with artwork echoing the style of Studio Ghibli, the beloved creators of anime classics like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
While Altman didn’t give a firm timeline for how long the rate limits would be in place, he did offer a hopeful note: “Hopefully, it won’t be long! ChatGPT free tier will get three generations per day soon.”
OpenAI explains that rate limits are a standard measure to help manage the total load on their infrastructure.
Related: Ghibli memecoins surge as internet flooded with Studio Ghibli-style AI images
“If requests to the API increase dramatically, it could tax the servers and cause performance issues,” OpenAI states on their rate limit explanation page. “By setting rate limits, OpenAI can help maintain a smooth and consistent experience for all users.”
It wasn’t just regular users jumping on the bandwagon either. High-profile figures like X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared his own Ghibli-esque image, a playful take on The Lion King’s Mufasa holding up a Shiba Inu.
Similarly, White House AI and crypto advisor David Sacks joined in, applying the Studio Ghibli style to a picture of himself at an event.
Source: David Sacks
In related news, Bloomberg reported on March 26th that OpenAI anticipates more than tripling its revenue this year, projecting a massive $12.7 billion, according to a source familiar with the company’s financials.
Looking ahead, Altman had previously mentioned on February 12th that OpenAI aims to release even more advanced models, GPT-4.5 and GPT-5, within the coming weeks or months.
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