Disney plans to invest $1 billion in OpenAI deal

The studio also will license Mickey Mouse and other characters to startup’s Sora tool.

- BY WENDY LEE AND SAMANTHA MASUNAGA

Disney

CHARACTERS in the "Frozen" films are among many Disney characters to be licensed to the Sora AI tool.

OpenAI said Thursday it reached a licensing deal with Walt Disney Co. to use more than 200 popular Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, characters from “Frozen” and Yoda from “Star Wars” in OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora. Disney has also agreed to invest $1 billion in the San Francisco AI startup.

The deal marks a significant step in Hollywood, as a major studio is partnering with one of the most valuable AI companies in a three-year licensing deal that will bring iconic characters to an AI-powered platform.

Under the deal, users early next year can generate prompts on Sora to create short videos that feature the Disney characters and use ChatGPT Images to create images of the characters in seconds. Some of the Sora-generated videos will be shown on Disney+. The companies said the agreement does not include talent likenesses or voices.

"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.

Artificial intelligence has been a controversial topic in Hollywood, as creative talent have raised concerns about AI companies taking their work or likenesses without their permission and not compensating them enough.

In 2023, actors and writers went on strike to gain more AI protections in their contracts with major studios. There have also been questions raised about what would be the appropriate compensation for intellectual property that could be used to train AI tools.