OpenAI to Shut Down Video Platform Sora, Disney Terminates $1B Deal

OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue its AI video platform Sora, while also indicating that its $1 billion deal with Disney will not move forward.

OpenAI’s Sora team made a statement on social media that 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.”

The statement further notes that the company will share more information soon, including timelines for winding down the app and API and details on preserving user work.

"We've decided to discontinue Sora in the consumer app and API. As we focus and compute demand grows, the Sora research team continues to focus on world simulation research to advance robotics that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks," an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. 

The decision to shut down the video platform means the end of a $1 billion deal between Disney and OpenAI that was announced a few months ago. As part of the three-year deal, Disney said it would invest $1 billion in OpenAI and lend more than 200 of its iconic characters to be used in short, AI-generated videos.

Now, OpenAI says it will focus on “more lucrative areas” such as coding tools and corporate customers, along with a pivot to creating a “superapp” codenamed Spud, which aims to merge ChatGPT, Codex, and its AI browser Atlas into a single enterprise platform.

The goal is to move from “generative toys” to “agentic tools” that help people solve real-world physical and robotic tasks.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, launched Sora in February 2024, sparking vigorous discussion about the future of content creation, filmmaking, media, and copyright in the age of AI. 

In September 2025, OpenAI released a more powerful version of the tool, Sora 2, with one feature enabling users to create "cameos" of themselves, friends, and others.