OpenAI is shutting down Sora, its social media app that went viral at the end of 2025 as a platform to share short, AI-generated videos, but also raised concerns.
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, OpenAI posted on social media that is was “saying goodbye to the Sora app” and added that more would be shared soon about how users can preserve what was created with the app. “What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.”
Sora AI Video App
Sora was released in September to capture attention and advertising dollars like the ones that follow short-form videos on other social media sites. Instead, the app collected concerns from advocacy groups, experts, and academics about the degrees of letting people create AI videos on practically anything typed into the prompt. This led to a proliferation of nonconsensual images and realistic deepfakes of “AI slop.”
OpenAI was forced to address AI creations of public figures, including Michael Jackson, Mister Rogers, and Martin Luther King Jr doing bazaar and outlandish things. This was only addressed after an uprising from family estates and an actors’ union.
Disney had made a deal with OpenAI last year to bring characters to the social media video app, but said on Tuesday it respected the decision, “OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere.”
Disney says, “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.’
Reuters reported Disney was not aware the move was coming. Monday evening, Disney was in a meeting with OpenAI teams on a Sora project. Thirty minutes after the meeting, it was announced publicly that the Sora tool was being dropped all together.
Next Move for OpenAI
The AI company is moving to focus on coding tools and corporate customers. OpenAI is preparing for a stock market debut possibly later in the year.
The decision to scrap Sora means the end of a $1 billion deal with Disney that was announced only three months ago. Disney had planned to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and lend more than 200 iconic characters to be used in the short, AI-generated videos. No money exchanged hands.
Sources:
Axios: OpenAI will shutter Sora video app
NPR: OpenAI pulls the plug on Sora, the viral AI video app that sparked deepfake concerns
Al Jazeera: OpenAI pulls AI video app Sora as concerns grow on deepfake videos
Featured Image Courtesy of Otto Rapp’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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