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Do you remember the excitement felt when the first version of Sora was announced by OpenAI? A tool promising to transform simple suggestions into videos of almost cinematic quality. Now imagine the surprise of many users at the sudden announcement of its closure. Why such a decision and what is OpenAI preparing for the future?
The 3 must-know facts
OpenAI surprised the tech world in 2024 with the launch of Sora, a video generation model that quickly attracted attention for its ability to produce high-quality videos from simple text proposals. However, this technological feat came at a cost: the company was spending about $15 million a day to operate this model.
With cumulative revenues of only $1.4 million since its launch, Sora proved to be a financial sinkhole. Even at its monthly revenue peak of $540,000, the application was far from covering its costs, a problem that Bill Peebles, head of Sora, had recognized as early as October 2025.
Faced with these financial challenges, OpenAI decided to close Sora to redirect its resources towards more promising projects. The company chose to no longer invest in generative video and is now focusing on other research areas, notably the development of general artificial intelligence. The Sora teams have been redirected to the robotics division, a sector deemed a priority.
OpenAI is thus following in the footsteps of Anthropic, its competitor, which has managed to generate billions of dollars without offering image or video creation tools. Anthropic has bet on the irreplaceability of its products for developers, and OpenAI aspires to achieve a similar level of success.
To achieve its goals, OpenAI is considering a major restructuring of its flagship products. ChatGPT, Codex, and ChatGPT Atlas could merge to offer a more integrated experience. This strategy aims to streamline the company’s offering and attract investors in anticipation of a possible IPO.
By presenting an optimized and sustainable product portfolio, OpenAI hopes to reassure financial markets and demonstrate its ability to generate profits without relying on loss-making products like Sora.
OpenAI, founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman, has established itself as a major player in the field of artificial intelligence. With products like ChatGPT, the company has redefined human-machine interaction. However, the competition is fierce. Companies like Anthropic, with its chatbot Claude, and other tech giants like Google and Microsoft, continue to push the boundaries of innovation.
Anthropic, for example, has focused its efforts on creating tools for developers, a strategy that has proven successful with Claude Code. OpenAI now seems to be drawing inspiration from this approach to consolidate its position and explore new avenues for growth.