OpenAI sunsets the Sora app and schedules API shutdown

OpenAI, a leading technology company behind ChatGPT, has decided to discontinue its Sora AI video platform as part of a strategic shift towards a broader 'super-app' vision. This decision reflects increasing competition and rising infrastructure costs in the AI space.

• OpenAI discontinued Sora’s web and app experiences on 26 April 2026.
• The Sora API is scheduled to be discontinued on 24 September 2026, and users can still request an export of content created in Sora.

What OpenAI confirmed

OpenAI’s Sora discontinuation notice gives two separate deadlines. The consumer web and app experiences ended on 26 April 2026. The Sora API remains on a later timetable and is due to be discontinued on 24 September 2026.

That distinction matters. The confirmed change is the closure of specified product surfaces and the forthcoming API endpoint, not proof that OpenAI has ended all video-model research. The official notice also does not attribute the decision to a super-app strategy, an initial public offering or infrastructure costs. Those explanations should not be presented as established fact.

The closure follows a substantial product launch. OpenAI introduced Sora 2 on 30 September 2025 as a video-and-audio generation model with a dedicated social app. The service let users create and remix clips, browse a feed and use consent-based character features. OpenAI has since added a notice to that launch page stating that the Sora product is no longer available.

Users still have a data task to complete. OpenAI directs them to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, where they can request an export and receive an email when it is ready. The company recommends exporting as soon as possible and says it may notify users by email if it can offer a final export window.

OpenAI says data associated with a person’s use of Sora will be permanently deleted after the product is discontinued and any final export-window period has passed. The help article also routes refund questions to the company’s subscription-refund process.

Why it matters

For creators, the immediate issue is preservation. A discontinued creation environment can remove access not only to generation tools but also to drafts, libraries and social context. An export is therefore a time-sensitive continuity step, not just an optional backup.

For developers, the API date creates a separate migration window. Any production workflow that still calls the Sora API needs an inventory of requests, stored assets, user commitments and replacement plans before 24 September. The consumer shutdown does not eliminate that later operational deadline.

The case also shows why product availability, model research and strategic motive must be kept separate. OpenAI publicly documented Sora 2’s capabilities and safety controls, including visible watermarks, C2PA metadata and consent measures. The later product sunset is observable; a claim about why the company made that choice requires evidence that the official material does not provide.

What to watch

The remaining checkpoints are OpenAI’s notice of any final export window, completion of user exports, the 24 September API cutoff, refund handling and the promised deletion of Sora-associated data after the applicable window. Users and developers should follow those official notices rather than rely on speculation about a successor product.