Spud

OpenAI Shuts Down Sora Video Generation Model, Redirects Team to World Models and Robotics

OpenAI is discontinuing its Sora video generation model, with web/app access ending April 26 and API access closing September 24, 2026. The model was losing roughly $1 million per day, with daily active users falling below 500,000 after peaking at 1 million post-mobile launch. The Sora team will be redirected to longer-term projects including world models and robotics, while compute resources have already been diverted to a new coding/enterprise model codenamed Spud. The shutdown also effectively ends OpenAI's high-profile partnership with Disney, which had planned to invest up to $1 billion contingent on Sora integration.