After OpenAI announced Tuesday that it would be shutting down its generated video app Sora, The Walt Disney Company said it “continues to engage with the AI platform to find new ways to meet fans where they are.”
OpenAI’s announcement follows a deal between Disney and the AI company last December, in which entertainment giant Disney invested $1 billion in OpenAI under a three-year licensing agreement that would allow users of the Sora app to create videos featuring select IP.
The more than 200 characters made available under the deal included Mickey Mouse, Yoda, Deadpool, Moana, and many other notable characters from Disney, Marvel Studios, Pixar, and Star Wars. Disney said at the time that select content would appear on Disney+.
The Sora app uses text prompts to create video content, and the deal sparked a strong response from the creative community. They worried about the devaluation of iconic brands and artistry, and cited more general long-term concerns about piracy at the intersection of Hollywood and AI.
However, after Tuesday’s announcement by OpenAI, the deal has not moved forward, and OpenAI has yet to explain its reasons for shutting down Sora.
A Walt Disney Company spokesperson said: “As the nascent field of AI advances rapidly, we respect OpenAI’s decision to exit the video generation business and shift its priorities to other areas.
“We are grateful for the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with our AI platform to find new ways to meet our fans where they are, while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect intellectual property and creator rights.”
“By bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology, we are putting imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways never seen before, giving them a richer, more personal way to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love,” recently departed Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement at the time of the deal.
