Overview
- OpenAI announced Tuesday that it will discontinue the Sora video app, with the company saying it will share shutdown timelines and export options for users’ creations.
- Developers face the loss of Sora’s API, which OpenAI said it will wind down as part of a broader pullback from consumer video tools.
- Disney said it respects the move, and multiple outlets report the roughly $1 billion arrangement tied to Sora never formally closed and involved no funds.
- OpenAI cast the decision as a shift toward research and business uses, citing the heavy cost of video generation and plans to focus Sora’s research on world-simulation work for robotics.
- Sora surged after its September 2025 launch but downloads and engagement later slipped, and rising deepfake and copyright complaints forced new limits on public-figure content.