OpenAI may transfer Sora to a Hollywood startup.
OpenAI is in talks to revive its video generator Sora, potentially transferring the technology to an unnamed startup developing AI tools for film production, according to The Information.
The company was founded by Hollywood producer and former Walt Disney Studios head Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Sora research lead Bill Peebles, and ex-Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa. Katzenberg and Jaswa also manage the investment firm WndrCo.
A scene from the 1994 animated film “The Lion King,” released while Jeffrey Katzenberg was leading the studio. Source: IMDb.
The startup first came to light on September 9. At that time, reports indicated that the team plans to train its own video models and is discussing significant funding with investors, including Andreessen Horowitz. Now, the founders aim to acquire a ready-made solution.
According to media reports, the new owner will refine Sora and sell software and services based on it to the film industry. It remains unclear whether OpenAI will transfer the neural network’s weights. However, even without them, the startup will gain sufficient access to significantly restructure the system, a source told The Information. If the deal goes through, OpenAI will receive a stake in the company.
The article’s authors suggest that the weights might be transferred, as Peebles led Sora’s development and is familiar with its architecture and training methods.
Peebles left OpenAI in April, shortly after the project was shelved. On March 24, OpenAI announced the discontinuation of the Sora app, an AI-generated video platform similar to TikTok. The company explained that it was reallocating computing resources. According to The Wall Street Journal, the closure was pushed by Head of Applications Fidji Simo. In March, she urged employees to focus on productivity rather than “side quests.” At that time, OpenAI was preparing for a potential IPO. This was followed by the dissolution of a partnership with Disney, which had involved a $1 billion investment and a license for studio characters.
Sora 2 was released on September 30, 2025, and, according to Peebles, reached 1 million downloads in less than five days—faster than ChatGPT. However, the excitement was short-lived, as downloads dropped by 32% by December.
Katzenberg has previously attempted to capitalize on short-form video. In April 2020, he and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman launched Quibi, a paid streaming service for series with episodes under 10 minutes, designed for smartphone viewing. The service emerged from WndrCo and attracted $1.75 billion, including investments from Disney and NBCUniversal. However, the audience did not materialize, and in October, the management announced its closure. In an open letter, they suggested that the idea itself might not have been strong enough or was mistimed.
In March, Google released the Veo 3.1 Lite AI video generator.
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