(Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
In a shocker, OpenAI will discontinue Sora, the video-generation app that briefly went viral last year but has since cooled off.
“We’re saying goodbye to Sora,” the Sora account tweeted on Tuesday, adding: “We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work."
The news is surprising considering the mobile app version of Sora isn’t even a year old. It launched in September as a TikTok-like platform featuring AI-generated videos. Sora quickly hit the top spot on Apple’s US App Store, but it has since dropped to 172 among free apps, according to SensorTower. Prior to the mobile app, OpenAI previewed the first-generation Sora on the web, beginning in February 2024.
OpenAI is now indicating it would rather use Sora’s compute resources for other projects, including its ongoing pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The San Francisco company told PCMag: “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."
The robotics mentions hints that OpenAI sees a more lucrative opportunity in automation. The company was likely burning millions to power Sora's video generation, which is available as a free app. The decision to shutter Sora's API suggests the company might be ditching video generation altogether.
Still, the company told PCMag that its main goal with Sora was to teach AI to understand and simulate the physical world in motion. The company plans to continue focusing on long-term research in world simulation. No changes are being made to image generation in ChatGPT.
The move means the end of OpenAI's deal with Disney, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Amid copyright concerns over Sora users creating AI-generated videos featuring Disney characters, OpenAI and Disney signed a three-year content licensing deal in December that allowed Sora users to generate videos featuring 200+ Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. Disney tells THR that it "will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators.”
Sora's demise occurs as OpenAI is reportedly prioritizing productivity tools, including coding assistants, amid intense competition with Anthropic. “We cannot miss this moment because we are distracted by side quests,” Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, said during a recent internal meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In the meantime, the Sora app still works and remains available on the Google Play Store and Apple’s iOS App Store.