Disney gives Sora access to iconic characters after investing $1 billion in OpenAI
Disney has signed a new deal with OpenAI, committing $1 billion and licensing more than 200 characters for Sora video production.
In addition to a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI, the Walt Disney Company has announced a license deal that will enable users of the Sora app to start producing videos with over 200 of OpenAI’s copyrighted characters the next year.
After being introduced in February of last year, Sora was released in September and allows users to create brief videos using basic text suggestions. Users will be permitted to produce content with Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters under the new three-year license agreement.
In a statement, Disney CEO Bob Iger called the collaboration a momentous occasion for the entertainment sector.
using our partnership with OpenAI, we will carefully and ethically expand the reach of our stories using generative AI, while honoring and safeguarding creators and their creations. The swift development of artificial intelligence represents a significant turning point for our business.
Disney will become a major client under the terms of the arrangement and get warrants for further OpenAI ownership. Additionally, the company intends to work with OpenAI on new tools and experiences and implement ChatGPT for its staff.
The corporations committed to implementing AI in ways that protect users, respect creator rights, and demonstrate “respect” for the larger creative industries. They also stated that OpenAI will continue to implement “robust controls” to stop the creation of illegal or dangerous content.
Sora leverages AI-powered technology to expand, remix, blend, or create new content from text and integrate pre-existing digital information. Characters including Mickey Mouse, Ariel the mermaid, Cinderella, Iron Man, and Darth Vader will be available to users through the agreement, along with “iconic environments,” costumes, decorations, and vehicles. Talent voices and likenesses are not included in licensing.
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a statement praising the partnership.
The deal shows how AI companies and creative leaders can collaborate responsibly to support innovation that benefits society, value creativity, and help works reach a wide range of new audiences, he continued.
Former ABC Television Network president and Disney veteran Preston Padden praised the acquisition, calling it “masterful” and “consequential.” “Disney’s control over the Disney characters in the AI world was effectively maintained by CEO Bob Iger,” he wrote on social media.
