OpenAI announced that it will discontinue its AI video app Sora. “We are saying goodbye to the Sora app. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built a community around it: thank you,” the Sora team wrote. The company said it will share more details soon, including timelines for the app and the API, as well as information on how users can preserve their existing work.

It is still unclear what this means for OpenAI’s broader video AI plans. OpenAI initially published a post saying goodbye to “Sora” as a whole, but later revised the wording to “Sora app.” That suggests the Sora video model itself is not being completely abandoned.

There were recently rumors that Sora could be integrated into ChatGPT as a video feature as part of a planned “super app.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, that is still the plan, while The Information says the idea has been put on hold.

Disney exits billion-dollar partnership with OpenAI

As a direct consequence of the Sora shutdown, Disney is withdrawing from the deal it had signed with OpenAI in December. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney had agreed to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and license some of its characters for use in Sora. The stated goal was to integrate the technology into Disney+.

“As the young AI field evolves rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to step away from the video generation business and shift its priorities elsewhere,” a Disney spokesperson said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The company added that it appreciated the constructive collaboration and still intends to work with AI platforms to “find new ways to reach fans where they are, while responsibly using new technologies that respect intellectual property and the rights of creators.”

Sora’s turbulent story ends as a footnote

The Sora app launched only in fall 2025 and immediately alarmed Hollywood. The platform initially allowed the free use of established intellectual property and well-known actors, forcing the company to reverse course within days. Studios and talent were then given more control over their rights and likenesses on the platform.

There are likely several reasons behind OpenAI’s decision to shut Sora down. After a viral launch, the app collapsed in the app rankings. Even at launch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had said the app would be discontinued if it failed to satisfy users. Its lack of success was likely the decisive factor. OpenAI would not be shutting it down if it were growing quickly.

Other factors likely played a role as well, including a strategic shift toward the B2B business, where rival Anthropic has recently gained ground. Video models also require heavy computing resources that could instead be used for research, development, and stronger enterprise offerings.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar explained the decision to CNBC by pointing to a shortage of computing capacity. “We’re simply facing a shortage of compute,” Friar said. “We have to make really difficult choices. Very often we hold models back, we don’t release features. And this was an example of where we had to prioritize. That doesn’t mean we won’t return to creative areas. It’s not a ‘never.’ It’s just: ‘We have to make hard choices.’”

Legal pressure also likely mattered, since OpenAI came under fire early over copyright concerns, alongside the technical complexity of controlling the system and the intense competition from China, where video models had already surpassed Sora at lower prices. Chinese providers are also less constrained, to some extent, by Western copyright rules. Google has also made major progress in video with its Veo models and leads in image generation as well thanks to Nano Banana. OpenAI would probably have had to invest disproportionately to remain competitive.

One open question is what happens next with the controversial research thesis behind Sora. When OpenAI introduced the first Sora model in spring 2024, it described Sora as a world simulator that could help train advanced AI, a key step on the road to artificial general intelligence.

Of course, OpenAI can continue that research without the pressure of commercializing the video model. At the same time, the company’s history shows that research depth and product success are closely linked. According to an internal memo seen by The Information, the Sora research team is now expected to focus entirely on long-term research into world models, with the goal of “automating physical labor.”