Image Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images Sora, the first standalone OpenAI app since ChatGPT, is shutting down less than a year after its launch. The news coincides with Disney's withdrawal of its $1 billion investment into the program, with the company noting that the AI field is "nascent." Here's what we know about Sora's shutdown and the team's reason for cutting its life short. Is Sora Shutting Down? Yes, as previously noted, Sora's team announced the news of its shutdown on March 24, 2026, via X.com. "We're saying 'goodbye' to Sora," the team tweeted that day.