OpenAI shut down Sora, its text-to-video generation app, on March 24, 2026. The company gave no specific reason. Disney canceled a planned $1.4 billion investment tied to the platform.
Sora launched publicly in December 2024. It turned text prompts into short videos. Version 2 added social features in September 2025. OpenAI's Chief of Applications Fidji Simo cited resource fragmentation and shifting priorities.
What This Means for Sales Teams
Sales professionals testing AI video tools for demos and outreach just lost an option. Sora competed with Runway, Pika Labs, and Stability AI in the text-to-video space. The market remains crowded with alternatives.
OpenAI generates billions annually from ChatGPT subscriptions and API usage but operates without disclosed revenue figures. The company employs around 3,500 people globally. No CRO or VP Sales appears in recent leadership reports. No dedicated ANZ presence exists.
Disney had licensed 200+ characters for Sora in December 2025. That deal is done. The partnership aimed to challenge TikTok-style social video apps but failed to find sustained demand.
The Bigger Picture
OpenAI raised over $13 billion in funding, including $10 billion from Microsoft in 2023. The Sora shutdown suggests video generation is not core to the business model. Sales teams relying on AI video tools should diversify their stack. Alternatives like Runway and Pika Labs remain active.
Worth noting: OpenAI has no visible sales organisation in ANZ. Operations stay U.S.-centric, focused on research and app distribution. Local sales teams looking at AI video tools are shopping from offshore vendors.
The comp for enterprise AE roles at companies like Runway and Pika Labs sits in the $150k-$200k OTE range in the U.S. No ANZ equivalents exist yet. The market for AI video tools targeting sales professionals remains fragmented and early.