OpenAI is shutting down Sora, its AI-powered video generation service, in an unexpected move that follows a period of rapid expansion and record fundraising.
The company confirmed the decision in a post on X, saying it would share further details on timelines for the app and its application programming interface (API), as well as arrangements for preserving users' existing work.
The closure comes weeks after OpenAI raised $110 billion in fresh funding, lifting its total valuation to around $730 billion, and ahead of an anticipated initial public offering in the coming months.
We’re saying goodbye to Sora. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.
— Sora (@soraofficialapp) March 24, 2026
We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on…
Sora attracted significant attention when it launched in 2024, with many in the entertainment industry raising concerns about its ability to generate high-quality video from text prompts.
The Sora 2 app reached the top of Apple's iOS App Store chart in the photo and video category within a day of its release in October, with users producing lifelike footage of copyrighted characters, including Lara Croft, Mario and Pikachu, prompting warnings from copyright and deepfake researchers.
In December, Walt Disney struck a three-year agreement with OpenAI to bring its characters to the Sora platform and pledged a $1 billion investment, with Disney committing to become a major OpenAI customer and to use its services in developing new content for its Disney+ streaming platform.
Senior OpenAI executives have recently said the company is sharpening its focus and acknowledges it cannot pursue every opportunity simultaneously, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the shutdown.