OpenAI to Shutter Sora Video App

OpenAI is shutting down its AI video-generation app Sora, the company said on March 24.

A brief statement thanked users who created videos, shared them, and built a community around the tool.

“What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing,” the company said in a post on X. “We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on preserving your work.”

No explanation was given for the closure.

OpenAI first introduced Sora in early 2024, bringing software that could generate high-quality, feature film-like videos based on text prompts.

The launch prompted ​AI companies across the United States and China to ramp up the release of their own AI video-generation models. The company launched the standalone Sora app in September 2025, allowing users to create and share AI-generated videos.

Advocacy groups, academics, and entertainment-industry voices warned that such tools could flood the internet with convincing deepfakes.

AI-generated images and clips were found in 21 percent of the 500 short-form videos available on video channels that were screened in a study published in November by video editing software company Kapwing, with some channels analyzed amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views.

AARP, a nonprofit and advocacy group for Americans aged 50 and older, warned last year that “AI slop” videos are making it increasingly difficult for some users to “detect what is real.”

The organization noted OpenAI’s decision in October 2025 to block “disrespectful” AI-generated deepfake videos depicting the likeness of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in its Sora app.

Quickly generated “AI slop” deepfake videos also permeated online platforms throughout the 2024 presidential election, and the Brennan Center for Justice warned in March 2025 that AI videos could have serious impacts on future voting cycles.

Disney Deal

A blockbuster $1 billion deal between Disney and the maker of ChatGPT was announced a little more than three months ago.

As part of the three-year deal, Disney said it would ​invest $1 billion in OpenAI and lend more than 200 of its iconic characters for short, AI-generated videos.

Disney said in a March 24 statement that it respects “OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere.”

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we 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,” Disney said.

Jacob Burg, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.