OpenAI has closed its artificial intelligence (AI) video-generation app Sora, less than two years after its launch generated headlines for producing realistic clips from simple prompts.
OpenAI will also be winding down its $1bn content partnership with entertainment giant Disney, the BBC understands.
OpenAI said Wednesday that it has shut Sora down to reorient its efforts on other initiatives, like robotics “that will help people solve real world, physical tasks.”
A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company added “we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to focus its priorities in other areas”.
Disney will work with other A.I. platforms to explore how the technology can be used responsibly without violating intellectual property rights, a company spokesman said.
OpenAI said it is closing both its Sora consumer app and the online service that pros used to create videos.
The BBC is aware that with Sora’s closure, OpenAI will not develop video-generation tools anymore.
The company is also looking to develop other kinds of advanced AI, such as “agentic” technology that can perform tasks on its own with minimal human oversight.
OpenAI aims to take the same tech it uses to teach AI how to make real-looking videos and use it on robots.
Sora’s closure has not affected the image-making tools on ChatGPT, OpenAI said.
What went wrong?
Sora was presented in 2024 to a staggering interest around the globe given how high-quality Sora’s AI-generated videos are.
But there were questions about how much money could be made from the tool.
Data from Seema Shah, VP of insights at market intelligence firm Sensor Tower shows across the platform’s lifetime, Sora had made $1.4m in net global in-app revenues while during the same timeframe ChatGPT’s figures came to $1.9bn globally in net IAP revenues.
According to Forrester analyst Thomas Husson, speaking to BBC News, it represented a “resource black hole” with “limited monetisation”.
“The ability of the platform to prevent the generation of non-consensual imagery and realistic misinformation, much less large scale copyright infringement, was hit or miss,” he said.
The decision may have been made at this time in order to “minimise the associated risks” ahead of a possible stock launch that would make OpenAI an also-public company where shares would be bought and sold on an open market, Husson said.
“With OpenAI still loss-making and increasing investor and competitive pressure it’s cash they probably realize can no longer be burned given the initial hype has died down,” said Henry Ajder, an expert on A.I. and deepfakes.
The app also raised concerns over copyright violations and threatened the media industry.
Disney was the first major studio to license intellectual property (IP) for use in its AI video tools to OpenAI last December.
Under a three-year agreement, Sora users were able to make AI videos featuring Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Yoda from “Star Wars.”
The deal was viewed as a watershed moment for the tech and Hollywood, especially being reported following other studios served legal notices to AI companies regarding their IP.
Some members of the media industry also expressed concern that the deal would be another significant step toward AI deposing entertainment industry talent.
Reuters reported no cash had swapped hands between Disney and OpenAI before the deal was scrapped.
Sora was also up against a growing number of competitors in the A.I. video-making space.
Among them is China’s Seedance, which generated controversy in February when realistic videos featuring Hollywood characters created with the app exploded on the internet.
