In December, Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing agreement built around Sora, OpenAI's generative AI video platform. The terms were significant: OpenAI would get access to more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. Disney would get fan-generated AI videos on Disney+, access to OpenAI's APIs to build new products, and ChatGPT deployed across its workforce. Disney would also make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.
Iger called it an opportunity to "play a part in what really is breathtaking growth" in AI. The deal was framed as a template for how Hollywood and Silicon Valley could coexist.
OpenAI abruptly shut down Sora on Tuesday without explaining why, other than thanking users for their "creativity." The platform closed before a single Disney character ever appeared on it.
According to Variety, the closure appears tied to OpenAI's anticipated IPO later this year — the company is redirecting resources away from consumer products and toward AGI development. Sora consumed enormous compute and never built a mass audience. When it shut down, every deal built around it went with it.
Per Deadline, "no actual money changed hands as the deal was never finalized" — meaning Disney didn't lose a billion dollars, but it did lose its most visible AI strategy.
Disney said it "respects OpenAI's decision" and will "continue to engage with AI platforms." What it's actually left with: no AI video partner, voice actor approval issues that were already creating friction in the deal, and a new CEO one week into the job who now has to figure out the company's entire AI roadmap from scratch.
D'Amaro told shareholders Wednesday that Disney is "approaching this very thoughtfully." He'll have more time than Iger had to figure out what that means.