GoKawiilOpenAI’s recently announced plans to shutter its Sora video-generating app have also scuttled the company’s planned $1 billion licensing partnership with Disney, according to multiple press reports.
“As the nascent AI field advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere,” Disney said in a statement provided to media outlets. “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 and OpenAI announced the blockbuster three-year licensing deal in December, saying that over 200 Disney-owned characters would be available for use in Sora-generated videos. At the same time, Disney said it would be making a $1 billion equity investment in the AI company.
While that agreement was presented publicly as all but a done deal, an OpenAI statement at the time said it was “subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements, required corporate and board approvals, and customary closing conditions.”
Now, Axios cites “a source familiar with the situation” in reporting that no money ever changed hands in the planned deal. The Financial Times reports that the deal never got off the ground as OpenAI shifted its strategic direction, according to “two people familiar with the matter.” And Deadline cites a Disney insider who said point-blank that “the deal is not moving forward.”
Reuters cites an anonymous “person familiar with the matter” who described the Sora shuttering as “a big rug-pull” that blindsided the massive entertainment conglomerate. OpenAI published an updated version of Sora’s safety standards as recently as Monday, suggesting that many inside the company were not prepared for the late Tuesday announcement.