Disney’s boardroom made a surprise announcement this morning of a three-year agreement with OpenAI. More specifically, a $1 billion investment for a chunk of OpenAI shares as well as the licensing rights to over 200 of their most iconic characters. The entire thing is being thrown into OpenAI’s video tool called Sora, which enables you generate short films with only a text prompt.
The fine print of this financial arrangement reveals a symbiotic relationship between two corporations: Disney is giving OpenAI a lifeline by investing $1 billion in OpenAI shares, along with warrants that enable them to acquire even more in the future if they desire. The agreement also allows Disney to become OpenAI’s top customer and acquire access to some extremely fascinating APIs, which will allow them to create all kinds of new features and liven up Disney+. They will not, however, use voiceovers or actor likenesses, which was probably a wise decision given previous run-ins with AI businesses that went a little too close for comfort. They will also begin using ChatGPT for almost everything their workforce does, from discussing ideas to coordinating logistics.
- ANIMATE YOUR MEMORIES – Adults, ages 18 and up, can recreate playful Luxo Jr., the iconic lamp character from Disney Pixar's 1986 animated short...
- LEGO IDEAS EXCLUSIVE – A fan-designed set created by the LEGO community, voted for by passionate fans and produced by the LEGO Group
- FULLY POSEABLE MOVIE ICON – An intricate, articulated design helps builders recreate Luxo Jr.'s unique bouncing, hopping, and rotating movements
This new collaboration arrives in Hollywood at a turbulent period, when the glitz of innovation is eclipsed by enormous discontent rumblings. Just last month, when October 2025 came to a conclusion, CAA threw a major tantrum at OpenAI over Sora, claiming they were endangering artists and calling into question if they truly valued human creatives’ work. Sora’s introduction was also a touch rocky at first; early testers reported some disappointing results, such as plugging in SpongeBob and getting a cosplayer instead of the sponge we all know.
For OpenAI, this appears to be the culmination of a long, well planned strategy that has been in the works for at least a year and will most likely be permanently linked to the strong connections they’ve developed with Hollywood’s big brands, particularly Disney.
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