OpenAI Ends Disney Partnership As It Closes Sora Video-Making App

MAR 25 – OpenAI has shut down its artificial intelligence (AI) video-generation app Sora less than two years after its launch made headlines for creating realistic clips based on simple prompts.

OpenAI told the BBC on Wednesday that it has discontinued Sora so that it can focus on other developments, such as robotics “that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks.”

A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said “we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere”.

Disney will engage with other AI platforms to find ways to responsibly use the technology without infringing on intellectual property rights, a spokesperson said.

OpenAI said it is shutting down both its Sora consumer app and the internet-based platform that professional install to generate videos.

The BBC understands that with the closure of Sora, OpenAI will no longer focus on developing video-generation tools.

The firm said it aims to create other forms of advanced AI, including “agentic” technology capable of autonomously completing tasks with little human oversight.

OpenAI plans to apply the same technology used to teach AI how to produce realistic videos to training robots.

Image-making tools on ChatGPT have not been affected by Sora’s closure, OpenAI said.

Sora launched in 2024 to huge interest around the world due to the high quality of its AI-generated videos that looked as if a professional studio had produced them.

But the app also sparked concerns about copyright violations and the threat it posed to the media industry.

In December, Disney became the first major studio to license intellectual property (IP) to OpenAI to use in its AI video tools.

The three-year deal allowed Sora users to create AI videos with Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Yoda from Star Wars.

The agreement was seen as a turning point for the tech industry and Hollywood, coming after major studios had issued legal challenges to AI firms over the use of their IP.

Some in the media industry also raised concerns that the deal would mark a major step toward AI replacing entertainment industry talent.

Sora also faced a growing number of competitors in the AI video-making market. That list includes China’s Seedance, which created controversy in February after realistic videos featuring Hollywood characters that were generated using the app went viral online.