OpenAI’s Sora API shuts down Wednesday, ending AI video tool’s run

OpenAI's Sora API will stop accepting requests on September 24, marking the final chapter for the AI video generation tool that once carried a landmark licensing deal with Disney The Walt Disney Company ↗ 0.03% and a billion-dollar investment promise that never materialized.reuters+1

A Phased Exit

The shutdown is the second and last stage of a two-step wind-down OpenAI announced in March. The Sora web and mobile app experiences were already discontinued on April 26, and the developer-facing API has continued running in the months since. After September 24, OpenAI will permanently delete all user data associated with Sora once any final export window closes, the company said in its help center. Users can still export their content at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset before the deadline.newsbytesapp+2

OpenAI has not named a successor model for video generation. Remaining Sora credits can be applied to Codex, the company's coding tool.newsbytesapp

The Disney Deal That Never Closed

The most consequential casualty of Sora's demise was its partnership with Disney. Announced on December 11, 2025, the three-year agreement would have made Disney the first major content licensing partner for Sora, granting users the ability to generate short videos featuring more than 200 characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. Disney also agreed to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and receive warrants to purchase additional equity.startupfortune+2

But the transaction never closed and no money changed hands, Reuters reported. In March, Disney learned of Sora's cancellation roughly 30 minutes after a joint working session, according to Reuters, and OpenAI announced the move publicly the next day. The BBC reported that a Disney spokesperson said the company "will engage with other AI platforms to find ways to responsibly use the technology without infringing on intellectual property rights".bbc+3

Why Sora Lost Its Place

OpenAI shifted its focus toward coding tools, enterprise customers, and its pursuit of artificial general intelligence, Reuters reported, noting that Sora consumed computational resources that left other teams with less capacity. User engagement had already weakened: downloads fell 32 percent month over month in December 2025 and another 45 percent in January 2026, when installs reached about 1.2 million for the month, according to TechCrunch data cited by Startup Fortune.startupfortune+1

Disney, meanwhile, has moved on with its own technology strategy. Last week, the company appointed Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character AI, as its first company-wide chief technology officer, reporting directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro. For developers still relying on Sora's API, the September 24 deadline leaves three days to migrate to alternatives from competitors including Google's Alphabet Inc. ↗ 0.98% Veo, Runway, and Kling.laozhang+2