OpenAI kills Sora
OpenAI pulled the plug on Sora after reportedly burning about $15M a day against just $2.1M in revenue and a collapsed $1B Disney tie-up — the company is refocusing on enterprise work and ramping hiring for that shift. The shutdown underlines the cost and monetization risks of consumer AI moonshots and pushed OpenAI to lean on Microsoft and cloud partners as it doubles down on enterprise roles. (computerworld.com) (variety.com)
OpenAI debuted Sora as a standalone short‑form video app in September 2025 and posted that it would discontinue the service on March 24, 2026. (newsbreak.com)) Sora surged to more than 1 million downloads within days of launch and hit No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. App Store, according to Sora lead Bill Peebles and contemporaneous app‑store data. (cnbc.com)) Sensor Tower and app‑analytics trackers show Sora’s App Store ranking collapsed from the top spot to outside the Top 100 by January 2026, reflecting a steep post‑launch drop in downloads and spending. (pcmag.com)) OpenAI had already begun monetization moves in October 2025—Sora’s team announced purchasable “extra gens” (ten extra video generations for $4) and set daily free‑generation limits (30 per day for general users, 100 for some pro tiers), with Bill Peebles calling the economics “completely unsustainable” in an October X post. (theoutpost.ai)) OpenAI told users it would publish timelines for the app and API shutdown and provide details on preserving creator work after the March 24 announcement. (nbcnews.com)) Reporting shows partner teams were caught off guard by the timing of the shutdown—the Wall Street Journal and Reuters coverage noted a partner meeting minutes before the announcement, and OpenAI’s public news stream listed Sora‑specific safety and migration posts on March 23–24. (msn.com))
