Just over a year and a half ago, Sora, OpenAI’s video generation model, burst onto the scene. It got everyone in the industry talking, with people creating funny videos of animals engaging in ridiculous activities. It quickly spread across social media platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram.
All that now seems short-lived as on Tuesday, OpenAI announced it was pulling the plug on the AI video generation chatbot. In a statement the company provided to the BBC, it cited the need to shift its attention to other areas “that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks.”
This move aligns with recent statements about the company’s business strategy. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, informed employees that the company “cannot miss this moment because we are distracted by side quests.” She added that the company needs “to nail productivity in general and particularly productivity on the business front.”
Emmanuel Oyedeji
Why OpenAI shut down Sora’s AI video generator
But there could be more to the shutdown of Sora than OpenAI is letting on. When the app launched in 2024, it quickly climbed to number one on the Apple App Store, reaching over 1 million downloads in under five days. Despite those rapid downloads, the app generated only about $1.4 million in global net in-app revenue, compared with the $1.9 billion ChatGPT reportedly generated in the same period, according to data from Seema Shah, VP of insights at market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
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