OpenAI shuts down SORA and with it goes Disney’s Billion Dollar Investment
OpenAI is shutting down Sora, the generative-AI video creation platform that was launched in 2024. No specifics were given as to why, the Sora team released a statement:
We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.
We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work. – The Sora Team
With the shutdown, goes the investment Disney promised just three months ago. The two companies announced a three-year licensing agreement that allowed Sora to use some Disney intellectual property from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, for the creation of videos. Those videos were going to be added to Disney+ in a new curated section. That deal included a $1 billion stake in OpenAI.
That’s now evaporated like the value of an NFT.
Disney released a statement to Variety:
As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere. We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.
While Disney cut a deal with OpenAI it has been more adversarial with other platforms including sending Google a cease-and desist demand and it, along with Universal and Warner Bros., are suing Midjourney.
