The move marks a sudden reversal for one of the tech industry’s most closely watched experiments in AI-generated video.
“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,” OpenAI’s Sora team said in a statement Tuesday, March 24.
The company said it will share more details soon, including timelines for winding down the app and API and how users can preserve their work.
OpenAI did not publicly explain the decision. In comments to the BBC, the company said it is shifting its focus to other areas, including robotics and so-called “agentic” AI systems designed to carry out real-world tasks with minimal human input.
The shutdown also brings an abrupt end to a closely watched partnership with Disney.
Announced in December, the three-year deal would have allowed Sora users to generate short videos featuring more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and “Star Wars.” The app was launched in part to compete for attention — and potential advertising revenue — with short-form video platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Disney had also planned to take a $1 billion equity stake in OpenAI. That investment is no longer moving forward.
“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,” Disney said in a statement.
The partnership had been seen as a potential turning point in the uneasy relationship between Hollywood and artificial intelligence companies — a debate playing out in part in the Bay Area, home to many of the industry’s leading AI firms.
Sora itself drew both excitement and concern.
First unveiled in 2024, the tool impressed users with its ability to generate realistic video from simple text prompts. But it also raised concerns about misinformation, nonconsensual imagery and intellectual property violations.
OpenAI later restricted some features after users generated AI videos depicting public figures such as Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers in fabricated scenarios, prompting backlash from family estates and an actors’ union.
There were also business challenges. Sora generated about $1.4 million in global in-app revenue, compared with $1.9 billion for ChatGPT over the same period, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, as reported by the BBC.