OpenAI has announced the closure of its AI text-to-video generator Sora.
In a post on social media, the company said: “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.”
According to multiple reports, the decision has led to Disney exiting an agreement it reached with OpenAI last year to invest $1 billion in the company and allow it to use some Disney characters in Sora.
Graham Lovelace, TVBEurope’s resident AI expert, said: “While OpenAI is saying goodbye to Sora, rightsholders around the world who saw their copyrighted characters flood social media will no doubt be saying ‘good riddance’. Disney, meanwhile, will probably be breathing a massive sigh of relief.
“OpenAI promised guardrails preventing inappropriate content being generated featuring Disney characters, but someone, somewhere, was going to have to take a view on satire and parodies, and how or whether OpenAI would moderate Sora outputs.”
Sora first launched in 2024 with OpenAI executives immediately holding talks with Hollywood about the AI’s capabilities.
At the time, actor/director/producer Tyler Perry revealed he had paused plans for an $800 million expansion of his studio in Atlanta after seeing a demonstration of Sora.
