OpenAI in talks to license Sora to Katzenberg-backed filmmaking AI startup
The Information reported on Oct. 12 that OpenAI is negotiating with a stealth AI video startup focused on film production to hand over the shuttered video model Sora, which the startup would adapt and sell as software or services to filmmakers. The startup was founded in recent months by Hollywood producer and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Sora research lead Bill Peebles and former Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa; its name has not been disclosed. People familiar with the talks said OpenAI would receive an equity stake in the startup if a deal is reached, though the size is unknown and it remains unclear whether the startup would get Sora's model weights. Sora and its TikTok-like app were shut down this year as OpenAI cut server-intensive side projects, and OpenAI also ended a roughly $1 billion Disney partnership; WndrCo, co-founded by Katzenberg and Jaswa, was previously reported to be in talks for a large funding round including a16z.
If the deal goes through, Sora would shift from a first-party consumer product to a licensed professional filmmaking tool, letting OpenAI keep some return on its research without carrying operating costs.