OpenAI runaway-spend incidents
3 documented incidents involving OpenAI APIs or billing. Each one is sourced and maps to the rule that would have stopped it.
| Incident | Loss | Cause | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI agents burned $72,000 in a single night | $72,000 | Unattended sessions | 2025 | AlphaSignal ↗ |
| OpenAI charged $1,200 past a configured $50 hard limit | $1,200 | Caps that didn't enforce | 2025 | OpenAI Community ↗ |
| Account billed $1,100 after hard monthly cap was removed | $1,100 | Caps that didn't enforce | 2025 | LinkedIn (affected user) ↗ |
Protect your OpenAI spend
sipi.bot sits between your agents and your providers. Configure the rules once and every proposed charge is evaluated before it hits your bill.