Disney Invests $1 Billion in OpenAI, Bringing Mickey Mouse and Marvel Heroes to Sora AI Video Platform
The Walt Disney Company is making a major leap into artificial intelligence. On Thursday, Disney announced a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI as part of a new three-year licensing and technology partnership that will bring hundreds of its beloved characters — from Mickey Mouse to Iron Man — into OpenAI’s Sora AI video generator.
A Groundbreaking Collaboration
OpenAI’s Sora, launched in September 2025, allows users to create realistic short videos by typing in simple text prompts. Under the new agreement, beginning next year, Sora users will be able to generate videos featuring more than 200 iconic Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars characters.
“The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “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.”
The deal also grants Disney warrants to purchase additional OpenAI equity and makes the entertainment giant a major OpenAI enterprise customer. As part of the rollout, Disney will deploy ChatGPT for internal employee use and collaborate with OpenAI to build new AI-powered creative and production tools.
Expanding Storytelling with AI
The partnership aims to give Disney fans and creators new ways to interact with its vast universe of characters. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the integration of Disney IP into Sora will include strong safeguards.
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner with them to expand the way people create and experience great content,” Altman said.
Users will also be able to use Disney’s character library in ChatGPT Images, OpenAI’s image-generation tool, to create still visuals through natural-language prompts.
To protect creative rights, OpenAI has committed to maintaining “robust controls” that prevent users from generating harmful or illegal content. The companies confirmed that no talent likenesses or voices are included in the deal — meaning users can use characters like Ariel, Cinderella, Iron Man, and Darth Vader, but not the actual actors who portray them.
Curated compilations of user-created Sora videos featuring Disney content will also appear on Disney+, marking the first time fan-generated AI media will be distributed through an official Disney platform.
Legal Battles and Industry Implications
The announcement comes amid an ongoing battle between Hollywood studios and AI companies over the use of copyrighted content for model training. Disney recently sent a cease and desist letter to Google, accusing the company of using its intellectual property to train AI models “on a massive scale.”
The company, along with Universal, has also filed lawsuits against AI art generator Midjourney and sent legal warnings to Character.AI, alleging unauthorized use of Disney-owned characters.
Despite these disputes, Disney’s partnership with OpenAI suggests a shift in strategy — one that embraces generative AI under controlled, licensed conditions.
“We have affirmed a shared commitment to using AI in ways that protect user safety and the rights of creators,” Disney and OpenAI said in a joint release.
A Billion-Dollar Bet on the Future
By investing directly in OpenAI, Disney signals its confidence in AI’s potential to shape the future of entertainment. The collaboration is expected to fuel innovation in both content creation and digital storytelling while offering a glimpse into how traditional media giants are adapting to technological disruption.
When Sora debuted earlier this year, it quickly topped Apple’s App Store charts — but also drew criticism for allowing users to create videos with unlicensed brand imagery. The Disney deal is the first major studio-backed licensing partnership for Sora and may set a precedent for how Hollywood cooperates with AI developers moving forward.
Both Iger and Altman appeared together on CNBC on Thursday to discuss the partnership. The move comes as major media and tech companies increasingly compete for dominance in the generative AI space — with Disney aiming to blend its storytelling legacy with the cutting-edge technology shaping tomorrow’s entertainment landscape.
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