A file photo showed the OpenAI logo on a phone beside an image produced by DALL·E.
OpenAI announced it will discontinue Sora, the short-form social video app that went viral last fall for enabling users to create AI-generated clips. The company said in a brief social post that it is “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and will provide information soon about how people can preserve content they created. The post acknowledged that users’ creations mattered and said the news would be disappointing to many.
Launched in September, Sora was OpenAI’s effort to enter the fast-growing short-video market popularized by TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. The app quickly drew criticism from advocacy groups, researchers and other experts who warned that easy-to-use video generation could flood the internet with realistic deepfakes, nonconsensual imagery and a surge of low-quality or misleading AI-produced material.
In response to mounting concern, OpenAI tightened restrictions on AI-generated depictions of public figures after complaints from estates and performing-arts unions over fabricated videos showing people such as Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers.
Disney, which had partnered with OpenAI to bring its characters to Sora, said it respects the company’s decision to exit the video-generation business and refocus. Disney added that it valued the collaboration and will continue working with AI platforms to find responsible ways to reach fans while protecting intellectual property and creators’ rights.