OpenAI, the company behind the widely used chatbot ChatGPT, has shut down its AI video-generation tool Sora, effectively ending a planned $1 billion partnership with The Walt Disney Company.
The decision was disclosed on Tuesday, March 24, in a post by the Sora team on the social platform X, confirming the sudden termination of the project.
According to reports by Reuters, Disney executives were caught off guard by the announcement. The media giant reportedly learned about the shutdown just 30 minutes after a meeting with OpenAI on Monday.
The move signals a major strategic shift for OpenAI as the company pivots away from video generation technology to concentrate on areas it considers more commercially viable.
In its message to users, the Sora team acknowledged that the decision would affect creators and communities that had grown around the platform.
“We’re saying goodbye to the Sora app. 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,” the team wrote.
They added that more details would soon be released regarding timelines for shutting down the app and its application programming interface, as well as guidance on preserving users’ work.
A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said the entertainment company respects OpenAI’s decision to discontinue the product and adjust its priorities. However, Disney indicated it remains open to exploring other potential collaborations with the AI developer.
OpenAI has rapidly emerged as one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence firms, with ChatGPT used by millions of people globally for personal, professional, and enterprise tasks.
The company first introduced Sora in February 2024, entering a competitive field of AI-powered video creation tools alongside offerings from companies such as Google and Meta Platforms.
At the time, AI-generated video was widely viewed as the next frontier in artificial intelligence, with the potential to transform the film and media industries by enabling users to generate cinematic-quality content from simple text prompts.
However, the shutdown of Sora highlights the technological and financial challenges involved in scaling advanced AI video systems, as companies increasingly prioritise profitability, infrastructure efficiency, and competitive positioning in a rapidly evolving market.
