OpenAI announced that it will be shutting down its Sora AI video app on Monday, effectively killing its deal with Disney.
The company thanked the users of Sora without specifying the reasons for pulling the plug.
“We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you,” the company, per The Hollywood Reporter (THR). “What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing. We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work.”
Though OpenAI’s ChatGPT app will still be used for generative AI video, the fall of Sora represents a significant development, considering it had been licensed to use some of Disney’s intellectual properties, including specific characters – seen at the time as a game changer that could have merged with the Disney+ streaming service.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed that the closing of Sora effectively killed the deal with OpenAI, though the company left open the possibility of working with another generative AI company.
“As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere,” a Disney spokesperson said. “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.”
According to Deadline, “no actual money changed hands as the deal was never finalized.”
“The big-bucks injection late last year from Disney looked to reset the IP battle between artificial intelligence and Hollywood by permitting iconic characters from Frozen, Star Wars and the Marvel multiverse to be used on the generative AI video app,” noted the outlet. “The three-year deal with OpenAI was supposed to make the leap to hyperspace this spring, Iger and other Disney brass boasted on a February earnings call.”
“Today, that all went in the digital trash when OpenAI said it was pulling the plug on Sora,” it added.
