IT·Science News

OpenAI shuts down Sora six months after its app launch, ending Disney’s $1bn deal

OpenAI is shutting down Sora, its AI video generator, about six months after launching the standalone app, Engadget reports. In a post on X on Tuesday 24 March, the company said it had “decided to discontinue Sora in the consumer app and API”, promising timelines “soon”. A spokesperson said the Sora research team will keep working on world simulation for robotics. Engadget cites Appfigures data showing new installs and user spending falling month on month, with December downloads down 32% from November.

An AFP report carried by Indonesia’s The Jakarta Post links the move to a shift toward business tools and agentic AI ahead of a possible stock market listing, and says applications chief Fidji Simo told staff this month they could not be distracted by “side quests”. The end of Sora also ends a December deal under which Disney would invest $1 billion in OpenAI and license its characters, The Hollywood Reporter says. Britain’s Broadcast notes that Sora reached the UK and Europe only in February 2025, and could make clips of up to 20 seconds at 1080p.

“We respect OpenAI's decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere.” — Disney spokesman, via AFP

How each outlet framed it

• Engadget — the usage numbers: a product losing users as OpenAI’s compute demand rises elsewhere.
• AFP — the money: costs rising much faster than revenue, despite roughly one billion daily users.
• Broadcast — the industry view: a tool that drew deepfake and copyright concerns, closing just over a year after its UK debut.

What we don't know yet: when Sora goes offline, how users can keep their work, and whether the video model will stay available through ChatGPT.