Disney invests $1.6 billion in OpenAI, enabling Sora and ChatGPT to generate Disney characters

On December 11, 2025 local time, OpenAI reached an agreement with

https://openai.com/index/disney-sora-agreement/

Disney makes $1 billion investment in OpenAI, sends iconic characters to the slophouse
https://www.polygon.com/disney-1-billion-investment-openai-slophouse/

The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI have signed a licensing agreement, becoming major content licensing partners.

Under the agreement, OpenAI's video generation AI, Sora, will allow users to generate and share videos using characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and other brands over the next three years. ChatGPT Images will also be able to generate images of Disney characters, but this does not include content related to the likeness or voice of actors.

In addition to this licensing agreement, Disney will become a major OpenAI customer and will use OpenAI's APIs to build new products, tools, and experiences, including Disney+ , and deploy ChatGPT for its employees.

As part of the licensing agreement, Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and receive warrants to purchase additional shares.

Through this licensing agreement, Disney and OpenAI also demonstrate their shared commitment to the responsible use of AI, protecting user safety and creator rights. Together, the two companies will promote human-centered AI that respects the creative industry and expands the possibilities of storytelling.

'Technological innovation has always shaped the evolution of entertainment, bringing new ways to create and share great stories with the world. Rapid advances in AI represent a critical inflection point for our industry,' said Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. 'Through our collaboration with OpenAI, we will thoughtfully and responsibly expand the scope of storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their work. By combining Disney's iconic stories and characters with OpenAI's groundbreaking technology, we will put imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans like never before, enabling them to connect with their beloved Disney characters and stories in richer, more personal ways.'

'Disney is the global gold standard in storytelling, and we're thrilled that Sora and ChatGPT Images are partnering to expand the ways people create and experience amazing content,' said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. 'This agreement demonstrates how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to foster innovation that benefits society, honor the importance of creativity, and bring work to broad new audiences.'

Under this license, fans will be able to watch curated videos created by Sora on Disney+. Working together, OpenAI and Disney plan to leverage OpenAI's AI models to deliver new experiences to Disney+ subscribers and further drive innovative and creative ways to connect with Disney stories and characters. Sora and ChatGPT Images plan to begin producing fan-inspired videos featuring Disney's multi-brand licensed characters in early 2026.

The characters that will become available to fans through this licensing agreement include not only Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Lilo, Stitch, Ariel, Belle, Beast, Cinderella, Baymax, Simba, and Mufasa, but also characters from films such as 'Mirabelle,' 'Frozen,' 'Inside Out,' 'Moana,' 'Monsters, Inc.,' 'Toy Story,' 'Up,' and 'Zootopia,' as well as animated and illustrated characters from Marvel and Lucasfilm, including Black Panther, Captain America, Deadpool, Groot, Iron Man, Loki, Thor, Thanos, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Leia, the Mandalorian, Stormtroopers, and Yoda.

As part of this license agreement, OpenAI has committed to continuing to lead the industry in implementing responsible measures to ensure trust and safety, including age-appropriate policies and other reasonable controls across its services.

Additionally, OpenAI and Disney expressed a shared commitment to maintaining strong controls to prevent the generation of illegal or harmful content, respect the rights of content owners regarding model output, and respect the rights of individuals to appropriately control the use of their voice and likeness.

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Disney and OpenAI's licensing agreement is exclusive for only one year, so other AI companies can sign the agreement after one year - GIGAZINE