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Sam Altman said Disney executive Josh D’Amaro replied, “I get it,” when Altman told him OpenAI was ending its Sora plans. Altman described the decision as a painful choice to redirect computing and product resources to other priorities. The phrase “smoke and mirrors” is the framing of a Futurism headline, not a verified quotation in the account it published.
That distinction matters: the proposed Disney–OpenAI partnership was ambitious, but the available evidence does not show Altman admitting it was fake, nor does it verify that Disney’s announced $1 billion investment closed. As of August 18, 2026, Sora’s web and app experiences have been discontinued, and OpenAI says its API is scheduled to end on September 24.
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What Altman reportedly told D’Amaro
In an account of an interview on the Mostly Human podcast, Futurism reported that Altman told D’Amaro OpenAI was ending its Sora plans and that D’Amaro’s response was, “I get it.” Altman reportedly said he was “super sad” to disappoint a partner, users and the team, and that OpenAI still cared about Sora, generated video and its relationship with Disney. He also left open the possibility of finding another way to work together.
Altman’s reported explanation was about priorities and capacity. He said OpenAI needed to focus computing and product resources on other work, including next-generation automated researchers and companies. He described the decision as a difficult resourcing call: a project can be worthwhile and still lose out when a company chooses where to concentrate its efforts.
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The available source reproduces the conversation but does not provide a primary podcast transcript or full recording. The quotations here should therefore be understood as Futurism’s reporting of Altman’s remarks, not independently verified transcript excerpts.
What Disney and OpenAI had announced
On December 11, 2025, Disney and OpenAI announced a proposed three-year licensing agreement centered on Sora. The plan covered more than 200 characters and related assets from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, including environments, props and vehicles. Fans were expected to be able to create and share short Sora videos, with a curated selection potentially appearing on Disney+. ChatGPT Images was also to have access to licensed intellectual property.
The announcement described a broader commercial relationship as well: Disney planned to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and receive warrants for additional equity; Disney planned to use OpenAI APIs in products and experiences and deploy ChatGPT for employees. The stated license excluded talent likenesses and voices.
These were announced plans, not proof that every element took effect. OpenAI’s announcement said the transaction was subject to definitive agreements, board approvals and customary closing conditions. The available sources do not verify that the $1 billion investment was completed. It is more accurate to say Disney planned to invest that amount than to say it paid or lost $1 billion.
The companies’ public vision remained alive into early 2026: Disney’s February 2 earnings transcript referred to a planned curated slate of Sora-generated content for Disney+. Then the underlying product changed course.
How the Sora vision unraveled
OpenAI launched Sora beyond its research preview on December 9, 2024, and introduced Sora 2 on September 30, 2025, describing it as a video-and-audio generation model with synchronized dialogue and sound effects. The Disney partnership announcement followed in December 2025. In late March 2026, OpenAI announced it was discontinuing Sora and winding down the Disney arrangement, according to Futurism’s reporting and OpenAI materials.
OpenAI’s current help page says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026. The same page says the Sora API is scheduled to be discontinued on September 24, 2026. That API date is a scheduled future sunset as of August 18, not an already-completed shutdown.
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- Sora web and app: discontinued April 26, 2026.
- Sora API: scheduled to be discontinued September 24, 2026.
- Disney–OpenAI Sora plan: did not proceed as originally announced.
- Disney’s planned $1 billion investment: announced, but completion is not verified in the available sources.
- Another collaboration: Altman reportedly expressed openness, but no replacement deal is confirmed.
Does “smoke and mirrors” describe the deal?
Not as a verified statement by Altman. Futurism used that phrase in its headline, but its reported account does not establish that he told D’Amaro the partnership was “all smoke and mirrors.” The phrase can be read as a sharp interpretation of the distance between the public promise and what ultimately happened: a major licensing arrangement and planned investment were announced, then the product at their center was discontinued.
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That outcome supports calling the plan unrealized or saying it failed to proceed as announced. It does not prove the partnership was fraudulent, that Sora never worked, or that every proposed part of the business relationship was imaginary. Nor does “I get it,” if accurately reported, establish that Disney was pleased with the decision or that it accepted every consequence.
The deal’s conditional language is also important. The original announcement laid out a proposed transaction subject to agreements and approvals; it was not confirmation that the investment, license and product integrations had all closed. The sources reviewed do not establish the exact contractual or financial status of each component when the arrangement was wound down.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did OpenAI stop Sora?
The clearest explanation in the available account is resource allocation: Altman reportedly said OpenAI needed to redirect compute and product capacity. That makes the decision a strategic pivot, even if it also marks a failed product bet in practical terms. A video-generation product may be impressive or attract interest and still demand more computing capacity or organizational attention than a company is willing to commit.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteFuturism also reported that OpenAI was losing about $1 million per day on the video app. That figure should be treated as the publication’s reporting, not as a financial disclosure verified by the primary materials cited here. OpenAI’s discontinuation notice confirms the shutdown and dates, but does not provide a detailed financial postmortem explaining the Disney decision.
Copyright, likeness and misuse risks were part of the broader context around generative video, but the available evidence does not show that a copyright dispute was the decisive cause of Sora’s closure or the end of this arrangement. OpenAI’s safety materials describe measures such as provenance signals, C2PA metadata, visible watermarks, abuse reporting and likeness safeguards. Those are company-described controls, not independent proof that all risks were eliminated.
Could Disney and OpenAI work together again?
Altman reportedly said the companies were looking for a way they might still do something together. That expresses interest, not confirmation. The available sources establish no replacement investment, character license, Disney+ project or other specific agreement. Any future collaboration would need to be assessed on its own terms rather than treated as a continuation of the Sora deal.
Bottom line
Altman’s reported message to D’Amaro was that OpenAI was stopping its Sora plans, and D’Amaro reportedly answered, “I get it.” Altman framed the decision as a painful move to prioritize other work. “Smoke and mirrors” is a headline’s characterization, not a verified confession that the deal was fake. Disney announced a planned $1 billion investment and a broad licensing partnership, but the sources available do not verify that the investment closed; the Sora product and the partnership vision did not proceed as announced.
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