On: GPT-5.6 Sol Pricing Cut by 50% on OpenRouter

[paxys]

Which raises the question - who is subsidizing this, and why?

[internetter → paxys]

Possibly OAI? If you have OAI tokens you are a captive audience. If you have OpenRouter you are bidding on a free market.

OpenRouter attributes this promotion to OpenAI https://x.com/OpenRouter/status/2089416739398254662

[paxys → internetter]

Is this captive audience not going to switch providers for a 50% discount? Especially when the effort is simply swapping one URL for another?

[maxnevermind → internetter]

Why though, to AB test/see the impact of a price cut on a platform with multiple competitors?

[OutOfHere → paxys]

OpenRouter is likely just leveraging Codex subscriptions.

[prime_ursid → OutOfHere]

Wouldn’t that be against TOS?

[OutOfHere → prime_ursid]

It might be through a level of indirection via an intermediate provider, offloading the TOS issue to the intermediate provider who couldn't care less.