OpenAI was banking on the video-generation platform to make money. The platform’s fall could augur more trouble. OpenAI has unexpectedly shut down Sora, its generative AI video model. Despite a surge of initial popularity, the tech was dogged by controversy and copyright issues and proved prohibitively expensive. In a significant blow to OpenAI, a $1 billion December 2025 deal to allow Sora users to generate AI videos featuring Disney characters was canceled at the same time Sora was jettisoned.