OpenAI just gave up on Sora and its billion-dollar Disney deal

The Verge / 3/25/2026

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Key Points

  • OpenAI announced it is ending Sora, a video generation tool it launched at the end of 2024, effectively discontinuing both the consumer-style app and developer API access.
  • The shutdown follows earlier internal and public uncertainty about whether Sora features would be folded into ChatGPT, but OpenAI reportedly has no plan to roll it into ChatGPT.
  • Reports say OpenAI chief Sam Altman informed staff that Sora’s TikTok-like app and API access would be stopped, indicating a significant retrenchment from the product.
  • The decision undermines momentum from OpenAI’s high-profile Disney licensing partnership announced just a few months earlier, which involved a $1B investment and character licensing.
  • The move signals challenges for real-time or scalable video generation products and highlights the volatility of tying major studio deals to fast-evolving AI systems.
Frame from a video generated by Sora 2 showing a cowboy riding a horse on top of another horse
A frame from a Sora 2-generated video. | Image: OpenAI

On Tuesday afternoon, OpenAI announced "We're saying goodbye to Sora," the video generation tool that it launched at the end of 2024, and centered in a massive licensing deal with Disney only a few months ago. The Wall Street Journal reported the move earlier, saying that OpenAI boss Sam Altman had informed staff that both the TikTok-like Sora app and API access for developers would be discontinued, with no plans to roll the feature into ChatGPT as had previously been rumored.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, as a result, the deal Disney announced in December, saying it would invest $1 billion in OpenAI, license its characters for use …

Read the full story at The Verge.