Walt Disney Co. has entered into a three-year partnership agreement with OpenAI, licensing more than 200 classic animations and characters to OpenAI and investing $1 billion in the company, making it one of the few Hollywood giants to directly participate in AI development through a dual approach of "funding and licensing".
The collaboration has officially begun, with Disney licensing characters and investing in OpenAI.
Disney and OpenAI have reached a three-year cooperation agreement, licensing several of Disney's classic characters, including Mickey Mouse and Cinderella, for use by OpenAI in its AI film generation platform.
Meanwhile, Disney also invested $1 billion to acquire a stake in OpenAI. This investment sets a record for the largest investment by a major Hollywood studio in an AI model developer.
Sora opens its character library, with over 200 Disney characters available.
During the collaboration, OpenAI's AI video generation tool Sora was able to use more than 200 Disney animated and creature characters to generate video content, including Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Simba from The Lion King.
However, this authorization does not include the actors' portrait rights and voice rights, meaning that characters such as Woody can appear in the film, but the original voice actors' voices will not be used.
Disney fully adopts OpenAI's tools, becoming a key customer.
In addition to licensing and investment, Disney will also become a major enterprise customer of OpenAI, implementing related tools in its operations and product development. Specific applications include planning and showcasing some Sora-generated videos on the Disney+ platform, deploying ChatGPT internally as an employee work assistant, and developing new media and entertainment experiences. Disney also reserves the option to further invest in OpenAI in the future.
Top officials have emphasized the value of cooperation and adopted a tough stance towards other AI companies.
Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that the rapid development of generative AI is a pivotal moment for the entertainment industry, and this collaboration is being conducted with respect for creators and the protection of their work.
He also pointed out that this collaboration was paid for, which represents market recognition of the value created by Disney. At the same time, Disney maintains a tough stance against other AI companies. Earlier this year, it joined forces with global media and technology company Comcast to sue Midjourney for alleged copyright infringement and issued a cease and desist notice to Google, accusing it of using Disney content to train AI models without authorization.
The industry tug-of-war continues, and Sora is expected to officially launch in 2026.
OpenAI has been in contact with several Hollywood studios in recent months, but the industry as a whole remains hesitant about AI, concerned about copyright, union backlash, and creator rights issues.
The Writers Guild of America also publicly criticized the collaboration, arguing that AI companies infringe on creative value. OpenAI, on the other hand, stated that Disney is a benchmark in the global content storytelling industry and described the market demand for Disney characters as very strong.
OpenAI completed a secondary market transaction this year, valuing the company at $500 billion, and continues to invest in chip development, data centers, and talent acquisition. According to future plans, Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to officially begin generating video content featuring Disney characters by early 2026.
This article, titled "Disney Licenses Classic Characters to OpenAI, Invests $1 Billion in AI for the Future of Audiovisual Media," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
