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OpenAI Shuts Down Sora, Ending Planned $1 Billion Disney Deal

OpenAI says surging compute needs forced a pivot to robotics‑focused simulation.

Overview

  • OpenAI said it will remove the Sora video generator from its app and from external interfaces, fully ending the project and its public access.
  • The company framed the move as a refocus driven by rising demand for computing power, and sources told the Wall Street Journal and Reuters that Sora tied up capacity needed elsewhere.
  • OpenAI will redeploy the Sora team to simulate real environments with a new emphasis on robotics.
  • The shutdown unwinds a 2025 arrangement in which Disney planned to invest about $1 billion and license Disney, Marvel and Star Wars brands for Sora‑made videos.
  • Sora could turn text prompts into photoreal video, but rapid growth, free‑use quotas, and misuse risks raised cost and safety concerns that leaders had flagged in 2025.