Yeah, I understood. I hope it's not true. Selfishly in part, since I don't have that kind of cash available, but also because one of OpenAI's founding principles is to "avoid undue concentration of power". Giving the latest models (sans very restrictive limits) to large or well-funded companies first would seem to violate this principle.

Being a small startup already puts you at a disadvantage. If established/funded companies are always getting the best model months ahead of you, it's really hard to compete even if you can make a better product.