Disney to invest 1bn in OpenAI, allowing use of characters in video generation tool

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse floats at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, on 3 April 2025. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse floats at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, on 3 April 2025. Walt Disney has announced a $1bn equity investment in OpenAI, enabling the AI start-up's Sora video generation tool to use its characters. Users of Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that draw on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters as part of a three-year licensing agreement between OpenAI and the entertainment giant. A selection of the videos made by users will also be available for streaming on the Disney+ platform. Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, hailed a deal which paired his firm's "iconic stories and characters" with OpenAI's AI technology.