OpenAI revealed on March 24 that it is discontinuing Sora, its AI video app that launched just six months ago. The company shared the news on X without explaining the decision. The iOS app, the API, and Sora.com will all be shut down. Exact timelines have not yet been provided.
“We’re saying goodbye to Sora,” OpenAI wrote. “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.”
Alongside the shutdown, Disney is exiting the landmark deal it signed with OpenAI in December 2025. That agreement had included a $1 billion investment in OpenAI and a license for more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. No money ever changed hands. The deal is now dead.
What OpenAI said about the Sora shutdown
In its X post, OpenAI did not give a public reason for shutting down Sora. In a statement, a spokesperson was more direct.
“We’ve decided to discontinue Sora in the consumer app and API,” the company said. “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.”
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The company also acknowledged the cost angle. OpenAI said it needed to make trade-offs on products with high compute demands. Video generation is significantly more compute-intensive than text. As OpenAI works to narrow its focus and reduce costs ahead of a prospective IPO, Sora did not make the cut.
OpenAI also said it is exploring ways to support the export and preservation of users’ content from the app. The Sora 2 model will continue to be available behind the ChatGPT paywall. The company’s image generator will also remain intact.
How Sora went from viral to gone in six months
The Sora app launched in September 2025 and immediately went to the top of Apple’s App Store. It reached 1 million downloads in less than five days. The app was designed as an AI-first social video platform, mimicking TikTok’s vertical feed format.
Its flagship feature allowed users to scan their faces and create AI-generated videos of themselves. Those could be made public for others to use. The feature was originally called “cameos” until the company Cameo sued and won, forcing OpenAI to rename it “characters.”
The app peaked in November 2025 with approximately 3.3 million downloads across iOS and Google Play, according to mobile intelligence firm Appfigures. By February 2026, that number had dropped to about 1.1 million. In its entire lifetime, Sora generated approximately $2.1 million from in-app purchases for additional video generation credits.
The controversy that followed the Sora app from day one
Sora was controversial from the moment it launched. The app was not supposed to allow users to generate videos of public figures without consent.
But many found ways around OpenAI’s restrictions. Deepfakes of figures including civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and actor Robin Williams surfaced on the platform. Both of their daughters publicly asked users to stop.
Sora users circumvented OpenAI’s copyright restrictions.
Raa/Getty Images
Copyright issues piled up quickly. Users generated videos using copyrighted characters without authorization, inviting legal exposure. OpenAI tightened its guardrails in response, but the restrictions frustrated users who had been drawn to the platform’s creative freedom.
The app also drew criticism from Hollywood and the creative community, which raised concerns about AI-generated content and intellectual property. That same industry scrutiny made the Disney deal notable when it was announced. Disney, which had sued other AI companies for copyright infringement, chose to partner with OpenAI rather than fight it.
What this means for the AI video landscape
With Sora exiting the market, the competitive dynamics in AI video shift quickly. Several realities now come into focus.
- Google is now the dominant player. Veo, Google’s AI video model, had already been competing on quality. With Sora gone, Google has no major standalone competitor in the consumer AI video space.
- Disney needs a new partner. The company said it “will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are.” A deal with Google or another AI firm is possible.
- OpenAI is cutting costs aggressively. The same day it announced Sora’s shutdown, OpenAI said it was discontinuing its Instant Checkout shopping feature. The company is consolidating its products ahead of an IPO.
- Creators are left scrambling. OpenAI has not yet shared timelines for the app and API shutdown. Users who built workflows around the platform are waiting for export and migration details.
The shutdown reflects a broader pattern at frontier AI companies. As competition intensifies and compute costs remain high, experimental consumer products that do not show a clear path to revenue are being cut. OpenAI is refocusing on enterprise, coding, and agentic products where it sees stronger monetization potential.
Sora was a striking demonstration of what AI could do with video. It just could not turn that attention into a sustainable business in the time OpenAI was willing to give it.