A major shock to the tech world! OpenAI has announced the shutdown of its AI video creation app "Sora" despite only launching six months ago, shifting its focus toward developing AI for software coding and data analysis in hopes of restoring profitability before going public.
OpenAI, a leader in artificial intelligence business, sent ripples throughout the tech industry yesterday (24 Mar 2024) by announcing it would cease development of Sora, an AI text-to-video app, despite its launch only six months prior. The company briefly stated on platform X, "We are bidding farewell to Sora," as it redirects its efforts toward developing tools for the business sector instead.
This project termination comes amid questions about Sora's business model sustainability, given that the costs of video processing far exceeded profits, despite the app reportedly reaching up to 1 billion daily users.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally informed employees of the strategic shift, aligning with application head Fidji Simo's directive to the team to avoid distractions from "side quests" and instead concentrate resources on developing "Agentic AI"—intelligent AI systems capable of autonomously performing human tasks on computers, such as software development and deep data analysis.
Furthermore, shutting down Sora led to the immediate collapse of a major deal with Disney made last December. Disney had planned to invest up to $1 billion (approximately 32.7 billion baht) to access Sora's technology for content production on its Disney+ streaming service, including bringing popular characters to life through AI-generated videos.
A Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, "We respect OpenAI's decision to withdraw from the video business and focus AI development elsewhere. Disney will continue seeking other AI partners to engage fans with cutting-edge technology, while responsibly respecting intellectual property and creators' rights."
Experts view OpenAI's move as an acceleration to generate profits from business sectors to prepare the company for a future stock market listing.
. France24