OpenAI is discontinuing Sora, its short-form social video app that went viral last fall for letting users create AI-generated clips from text prompts. The company announced the shutdown in a brief social post and said it will soon share instructions for users to preserve any content they created. OpenAI acknowledged the decision will disappoint creators who used the app.
Launched in September as the ChatGPT maker’s entry into the short-video space dominated by platforms like TikTok and YouTube, Sora allowed rapid, prompt-driven video generation. That capability drew swift attention and growing alarm from advocates, researchers and creators who warned it could fuel realistic deepfakes, nonconsensual imagery and a surge of misleading or low-quality AI content.
OpenAI had already tightened features after public backlash over fabricated depictions of well-known figures, including Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and after complaints from family estates and performers’ groups. Those concerns about misuse and harms were central to the company’s decision to wind down the product.
Disney, which had partnered with OpenAI to bring its characters into Sora, said it respects the move and values the lessons learned from the collaboration. Disney added it will continue working with AI platforms to engage fans while protecting intellectual property and creators’ rights.