The Walt Disney Company on Thursday announced it will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and will allow users to make videos with its copyrighted characters on Sora.
OpenAI launched Sora in September, and it allows users to create short videos by simply typing in a prompt. As part of of the startup’s new agreement with Disney, Sora users will be able make content with more than 200 characters across Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.
“The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.
Tune in at 10:30 a.m. ET as Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joins CNBC TV to discuss the media giant’s investment. Watch in real time on CNBC+ or the CNBC Pro stream.
When Sora launched this fall, the app rocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store and quickly generated a storm of controversy as users flooded the platform with videos of popular brands and characters. The Motion Picture Association said in October that OpenAI needed to take “immediate and decisive action” to prevent copyright infringement on Sora.
In a blog post following the launch, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman promised that more “granular control” over character generation was coming.
As AI startups have rapidly changed the way that people can interact with content online, media companies, including Disney, have kicked off a series of fresh legal battles to try and protect their intellectual property.
Disney and Universal have sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company improperly used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI in September, warning the startup to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.
But Disney’s deal with OpenAI suggests the company isn’t ruling out AI platforms entirely.
Some of the characters available through the deal include Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Cinderella, Iron Man and Darth Vader. The companies said the agreement does not include any talent likeness or voices.
OpenAI said users will also be able to draw from the same intellectual property while using ChatGPT Images, where they can use natural language prompts to create images.
“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,” Altman said in a statement.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/11/disney-openai-sora-characters-video.html
