01.AI announces shutdown of its self-serve API platform
01.AI is winding down its yi-lightning / yi-vision-v2 API: new signups and top-ups stopped immediately, API access ends 2026-09-03, and refund requests are accepted through 2026-12-03.
A live, publicly-priced two-SKU API (yi-lightning ¥0.99/1M, yi-vision-v2 ¥6/1M) open to new self-serve signups and top-ups alongside a sales-led enterprise motion.
New registration and top-ups closed immediately (2026-08-03); model trial and API calls scheduled to stop entirely on 2026-09-03, 24:00; balance-refund applications accepted through 2026-12-03, 24:00. Enterprise agent platforms (TrueNorth 万策, Wanzhi 万智) remain the only quoted, ongoing motion.
A dated notice now greets every visitor to platform.lingyiwanwu.com in place of the usual sign-in/sign-up flow: “平台服务调整公告” (platform service adjustment announcement). 01.AI says the change reflects a deeper “focus on enterprise-level AI solutions,” and lays out a three-stage wind-down — new accounts and top-ups closed immediately, model trial and API calls stop 2026-09-03 at 24:00, and a balance-refund window stays open through 2026-12-03 at 24:00, with a dedicated “申请余额退款” (apply for balance refund) button and a [email protected] contact for exceptions.
The rate card itself hasn’t moved — yi-lightning still lists at ¥0.99 per million tokens and yi-vision-v2 at ¥6, unchanged since October 2024 — but the platform that sold it now has a public closing date. It’s the clearest confirmation yet of the enterprise pivot flagged by 01.AI’s reported 2027 Hong Kong IPO plans and “China’s Palantir” repositioning: the ¥0.99 shop window, which survived a 2024 price war and a 2025 catalogue collapse, is the thing actually shutting, not just shrinking.
A platform notice dated 2026-08-03 says platform.lingyiwanwu.com is winding down: new registrations and top-ups stopped immediately, model trial and API calls end 2026-09-03 24:00, and the refund window for existing balances closes 2026-12-03 24:00. The stated reason is to 'further focus on enterprise-grade AI solutions.' The two-SKU rate card (yi-lightning ¥0.99/1M, yi-vision-v2 ¥6/1M) still renders unchanged in the docs, but the product it prices is being retired, not repriced — the last self-serve surface 01.AI had left.