OpenAI has announced that it is shutting down its Sora AI video generator. It’s a sudden development, especially considering the attention it got – positive and negative – when its standalone app was released just six months ago. But while unexpected, it doesn’t mean the company is ending its GenAI video efforts for good.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which originally broke the story, Sora’s closure comes as part of OpenAI’s efforts to restructure its AI offerings into a single, centralised service – specifically, a “superapp” that unifies ChatGPT, its Atlas web browser, and Codex coding app. Developer versions of Sora have also been discontinued.
In addition, OpenAI is also reportedly planning to focus on other long-term projects, including robotics, as well company’s new ‘Spud’ AI model, the latter of which is ready to be released in a few weeks; that’s according to an internal memo from CEO Sam Altman obtained by The Information. All this comes in the face of increased competition from other AI companies, including Anthropic and its Claude LLMs.
For many of us who only remember the hype that Sora’s release got, this announcement may look like it came out of left field. However, there have been signs that the platform was faltering in popularity, specifically its app.
