Sora shut down for 'Spud' compute
OpenAI is shutting down the Sora AI video app to free compute for training its next major model, codenamed “Spud,” according to social reports. The move is being reported alongside troubling finance notes — an $11.5B quarterly loss and a claimed $207B funding gap — with profitability not expected until 2030. ( )
OpenAI’s Sora account posted “We’re saying goodbye to Sora” on March 24, 2026 and said it will publish timelines for the app, the API and “details on preserving your work.” (nbcnews.com) Sora first rolled out as an invite-only app on September 30, 2025 and was promoted to a standalone consumer product within months, meaning the platform’s consumer life cycle lasted roughly six months. (forbes.com) OpenAI’s December 2025 licensing and investment pact with The Walt Disney Company — a deal that would have licensed more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters to Sora — is being wound down after the Sora announcement. (thewaltdisneycompany.com) Company communications and reporting say the Sora team will refocus on “world simulation” research aimed at advancing robotics, a shift Bloomberg described as part of a broader product‑portfolio simplification. (bloomberg.com) The Information reported CEO Sam Altman has shifted operational responsibilities in an internal reshuffle so he can concentrate on capital‑raising, supply chains and scaling datacenters while the firm prepares a next‑generation internal model codenamed “Spud.” (theinformation.com) OpenAI said it will provide ways for creators to preserve the videos they made on Sora and clarified the consumer app, its API and Sora’s in‑ChatGPT video functionality are the items being discontinued. (in.mashable.com) Sources cited by Reuters said Disney teams were still working with OpenAI on Sora projects minutes before being told the tool was being dropped, a move described in reporting as abrupt and surprising to partners. (money.usnews.com)
