OpenAI just killed its most controversial app and lost a billion-dollar investment

Sora felt like a massive success, but it’s getting shut down mere months after launching.
OpenAI was riding on the success of ChatGPT when it launched its second iPhone app in September. In just a few days, Sora turned into a massive hit with over a million downloads despite being an invite-only app shrouded in controversy. However, that initial success didn’t translate into long-term stability, and the app is now getting killed.
OpenAI is shutting down Sora
Less than six months after launching it, OpenAI has announced it will shut down its AI video app Sora. The company said that it will share additional information about the timeline of the shutdown and details for users who would want to preserve their videos from the app.
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While OpenAI didn’t go into detail, a Wall Street Journal report says that the company is winding down its AI efforts, not just the app. The company is also discontinuing the developer version of Sora, and it won’t support video functionality inside the main ChatGPT app, either.
Disney pulls out its $1 billion investment plan
At launch, Sora attracted a lot of controversy over the use of copyrighted content inside some of the videos users generated in the app. That forced OpenAI to introduce controls that allowed copyright owners to block the use of their intellectual property on the app.
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Have you ever used AI to generate video?
Yes, I use it all the time
I’ve tried it a few times, but I don’t use it often
I want to try, but I haven’t done it yet
No, and I don’t want to
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As a response to the way users interacted with the app, Disney announced it would invest $1 billion in OpenAI. Part of the investment deal was the licensing of over 200 characters so users could create AI-generated videos with them. Today, Disney said it won’t proceed with the investment agreement.
The move is likely related to OpenAI’s rumored desktop “superapp” that would simplify its product lineup. Currently, OpenAI offers the AI browser Atlas, the developer-focused Codex app, and the ChatGPT app.
Good riddance
One of the worst parts of the AI revolution is that the internet is now full of AI slop of all types. Killing Sora won’t save us from that, but I hope it sends out a signal that AI is almost never the best option, especially when it comes to social media content.
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