In a landmark move for both artificial intelligence and the entertainment industry, Disney will hand over beloved characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars to Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI platform.
Disney announced Thursday it would make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI as part of a new three-year licensing agreement with the AI company.
As part of the deal, Disney said it will also receive warrants to purchase additional equity, becoming a “major” customer of OpenAI.
Disney will also integrate OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, into its employees’ workflow, and aims to collaborate with OpenAI to “build new products, tools and experiences” as part of the agreement.
“This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences,” Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, said in a statement.
Through the agreement, OpenAI is provided with access to more than 200 animated, creature and masked characters across all of Disney’s brands — including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, and characters from “Frozen,” “Inside Out,” “Zootopia” and “Toy Story.” Several animated and illustrated versions of Marvel superheroes and “Star Wars” characters, such as Luke Skywalker and Yoda, will also be available.
Sora — OpenAI’s generative AI video platform — will be able to create short, user-prompted clips drawing on the provided Disney characters, as well as costumes, props, vehicles and iconic environments, the announcement said. A selection of the fan-generated short clips will be available to stream on Disney+.
The agreement does not allow access to any talent likeness or voices. Both companies affirmed a shared commitment to using AI responsibly and protecting both user safety and the rights of creators.
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, noted that Disney would collaborate “thoughtfully and responsibly” with OpenAI.
“Technological innovation has continually shaped the evolution of entertainment, bringing with it new ways to create and share great stories with the world,” Iger said in a statement.
He continued, “Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.”
