March 31, 2026 OpenAI is shutting down its video-generation app Sora after operating costs reached about $1 million per day. The decision represents a shift in priorities as the company redirects limited compute resources toward core models and enterprise-focused products.
OpenAI said it will move the Sora team into “world simulation research” tied to robotics, while tightening its overall compute allocation. “This disciplined focus on where we apply that compute allows us to grow, innovate faster, and deliver more efficiently to enterprises and developers,” the company said.
Sora launched with strong early momentum, topping app store rankings and generating millions of downloads within its first two months. But usage declined over time, with downloads falling to roughly 1.1 million last month and the active user base dropping below earlier peaks.
At the same time, the cost structure remained high. Video generation requires significantly more processing power than text-based AI, and each output consumed substantial compute resources. With infrastructure already under pressure, maintaining Sora became increasingly difficult to justify relative to other priorities.
That trade-off is becoming more visible across the industry. OpenAI is focusing more heavily on next-generation models and a broader “superapp” direction aimed at developers and enterprise users. Competing platforms, including Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, are also concentrating on productivity and coding use cases that more directly translate into revenue.
The shutdown also had external impact. Reports indicate that The Walt Disney Company had committed $1 billion to a partnership linked to Sora, but was notified shortly before the decision became public.
The underlying issue is not product performance alone, but resource allocation. Access to AI chips and compute capacity is now a central constraint, forcing companies to prioritise workloads that deliver the highest strategic and commercial value.
