❯ Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new startup is reportedly in talks to use OpenAI’s shelved Sora model to build tools for filmmakers

Sora may continue somewhere elseAccording to PYMNTS, relaying an October 12 report by The Information that cited a person familiar with the matter, OpenAI is in talks to let a startup use its video generation model Sora and sell software and services built on it. The startup is developing AI video tools for filmmakers. Its name is not public, and the talks have not concluded.

Sora's former lead is a co-founderThe co-founders include Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Sora research lead Bill Peebles and former Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa. The report says it is unclear whether the startup would receive Sora’s model weights, the full set of parameters produced by training. If the deal goes ahead, though, its access would be enough to substantially customize the model.

Why OpenAI is letting goOpenAI introduced Sora in 2025 and began winding down its video work earlier this year. The report describes this as part of cutting side projects to focus on core business ahead of a planned listing centered on enterprise applications. Handing the model to the person who used to lead it, for a film industry business, keeps OpenAI’s earlier investment from sitting idle, and the startup saves the time and compute of training a video model from scratch.

▮ SIGNALWhen a model company narrows its focus, a set-aside model does not have to disappear; giving it to a team in one industry to run is another way to recover the investment.