OpenAI’s Sora was the creepiest app on your phone -- now it's shutting down
TechCrunch • • general
Key Points:
- OpenAI is shutting down Sora, an AI-driven social app similar to TikTok that launched six months ago, without providing a specific reason or a timeline for discontinuation.
- Sora featured a vertical video feed and a deepfake tool called “characters” (formerly “cameos”) that allowed users to create realistic AI-generated videos of themselves and others, but it struggled with moderation and misuse.
- The app faced controversy due to unauthorized deepfakes of public figures and copyrighted characters, leading to legal concerns despite a planned $1 billion investment and licensing deal from Disney that ultimately fell through.
- Sora experienced initial hype with over 3 million downloads at its peak but saw significant decline and modest revenue of about $2.1 million, making it unsustainable for OpenAI amid broader financial losses.
- Although Sora is discontinued, its underlying AI video-generation model remains available via ChatGPT’s paid service, and similar AI-driven social video apps are expected to emerge in the future.
