Sep 9, 2026

Key programme: alpha ends Sep 9, beta keys run to Sep 30

Revised on 2026-09-14 — the four dates below were moved back by four weeks (issuance stop Oct 14, production Oct 21, beta keys expire Oct 31). See the Sep 14 notice. The free alpha evaluation closes and metered usage begins on 2026-09-09 (09:00 JST). Four dates follow, each at 09:00 JST inside the Wednesday maintenance window: Sep 9 — keys issued from here carry the aicu_beta_ prefix; existing aicu_alpha_ keys keep working. Sep 16 — no new beta keys are issued. Sep 23 — production operation begins. Sep 30 — beta keys stop working. The week between Sep 23 and Sep 30 is deliberate overlap: production starts at an event, and we are not switching everyone off on the morning we first run it in public. Move to a production key during that week and keep both live until the new one is confirmed. Once you are on card billing, the next key you issue is a production aicu_live_ key and is not bound to these dates. Expiry never deletes anything — usage history and balance are untouched; the key simply returns 401. We now email the owner a week before any key lapses.