sora

OpenAI announced the closure of the AI video generation platform Sora's application and API, citing that the company will shift its focus to world simulation research to advance robotics technology. Sora debuted in February 2024 as a text-to-video tool, later expanding into an independent social video platform, and added a "cameos" feature for users to embed AI scenes, but the daily operating costs reached approximately $15 million.The closure decision simultaneously terminated a major collaboration—Disney had originally planned to invest $1 billion to license OpenAI to use over 250 Disney characters to create AI videos. Disney stated that it respects OpenAI's decision and will continue to explore other AI collaboration opportunities. OpenAI emphasized that the AI image generation feature within ChatGPT will not be affected and will announce the timeline for the closure of the application and API, as well as the user data retention plan.

According to Jiemian News, OpenAI plans to discontinue the Sora standalone application six months after its high-profile launch to streamline its artificial intelligence product line. The company launched the Sora application at the end of September last year, promising users a more convenient way to generate and share realistic AI videos in a quasi-social network.This free application quickly topped the Apple App Store rankings but has since fallen in rank. In addition to shutting down this standalone application, OpenAI will also close the application programming interface (API) for developers using Sora.

According to Forbes, OpenAI's video generation application Sora has surpassed 4 million downloads, but its operating costs are extremely high, spending about $15 million a day on generating AI videos, with an annual expenditure exceeding $5 billion. Analysts estimate that the average cost to generate a 10-second video is about $1.3, far exceeding the current free usage level for users.The report points out that OpenAI is still in an aggressive expansion phase, not focusing on profitability for now, in order to expand its user base and acquire video training data. Company executives admit that Sora's economic model is "currently completely unsustainable," and in the future, they may reduce free usage and explore monetization paths through charging or advertising.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official blog, the Web3 fantasy sports platform Sorare has announced its migration from StarkEx to Solana, enhancing transaction speed and cost efficiency.Starting in October, ETH balances will migrate to Base (Coinbase Ethereum Layer 2); by the end of the month, all Sorare cards will be bridged to Solana NFTs, retaining rarity, numbering, season, XP, and metadata; payments and rewards will support ETH and SOL. Users can transfer cards to the Ethereum mainnet before migration, and externally withdrawn cards must be bridged back to Solana to trade on Sorare. The official team stated that they are exploring collaborations with external communities and may launch a Sorare token in the future.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine, Sora Ventures announced the launch of a Bitcoin reserve fund during the Taipei Blockchain Week. The fund has secured $200 million in committed capital from partners and investors in the Asia region, with plans to purchase $1 billion worth of Bitcoin in the next 6 months.This initiative is an important development following Asian Bitcoin reserve companies such as Japan's Metaplanet, Hong Kong's Moon Inc., Thailand's DV8, and South Korea's BitPlanet. Unlike these companies that hold Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets, Sora Ventures' reserve fund will act as a central pool of institutional capital, aimed at supporting existing businesses and promoting the establishment of similar reserve funds globally.

ChainCatcher news, according to an announcement from OpenAI, Sora is now available to Plus and Pro users in the EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland, allowing users in these regions to experience the capabilities of the video generation model.

ChainCatcher news, according to CryptoSlate, Sora Ventures and its affiliates officially took over the board of directors of Hong Kong Bitcoin company HK Asia Holdings on February 12, 2025, marking a shift from passive investment to direct management.The new board consists of 12 directors, including David Bailey and John Riggins from BTC Inc. (the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine), Jason Fang from Sora Ventures, among others. It has established four committees covering core management functions, including audit, compensation, nomination, and ESG.Sora Ventures and BTC Inc. subsidiary UTXO Management had previously acquired one-third of Japan's Metaplanet, and this entry into the management further strengthens their Bitcoin strategic layout. The establishment of the new board clarifies its role as an operator, rather than just an external investor.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin Magazine, UTXO Management has partnered with companies like Sora Ventures to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in Hong Kong Asian Holdings Limited (1723.HK), a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), amounting to 70.26% of the issued share capital of Hong Kong Asian Holdings Limited. This acquisition marks a significant turning point for the company as it plans to rebrand as Moon Inc. and indicates an intention to explore cryptocurrency investments and Web3 innovations. The new leadership team plans to leverage its resources and expertise to explore Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments, Web3 opportunities, and other innovative projects. The company will issue a total of HKD 33,750,000 in convertible bonds, and once the acquirer fully converts these bonds, the group's ownership stake will increase to approximately 74%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, a wallet associated with Sora Ventures deposited 2.97 million BIO into Binance, worth 2.17 million USD, and sold at an average price of 0.73 USD.

ChainCatcher news, according to TechCrunch, OpenAI's new video generation AI model Sora has been found to allegedly use game content from titles such as Super Mario and Call of Duty, as well as Twitch streamer likenesses for training. Legal experts warn that this could involve multiple copyright disputes.Experts point out that game videos typically contain multiple layers of copyright, including the copyrights of game developers, unique content generated by players, and user-created maps. Unauthorized use of such content to train AI models may be considered infringement, and even if AI companies claim fair use, users who publish or use the generated copyrighted content may still face legal risks.Additionally, the output content involving trademark or right of publicity issues may also increase legal challenges.

ChainCatcher message, OpenAI webpage shows that API, ChatGPT, and Sora are all running normally. (Jin Ten)

ChainCatcher news, according to CryptoSlate, Sora Ventures has launched a $150 million fund aimed at promoting the adoption of Bitcoin-centric financial strategies among publicly listed companies across Asia. The fund is designed to replicate the MicroStrategy model, using Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset to optimize financial strategies and enhance shareholder value.According to the announcement, the fund will target companies listed on major stock exchanges such as Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea. The first successful case of this strategy is the collaboration between Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed company Metaplanet and Sora Ventures to implement the MicroStrategy model.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the Web3-based fantasy sports platform Sorare has been sued in the UK for providing unlicensed gambling facilities.This is the first time the UK Gambling Commission has taken action against a blockchain platform. Sorare, headquartered in Saint-Mande, France, operates fantasy games for football, basketball, and baseball, where users buy and trade cards through NFTs. The company has partnered with several sports associations, including the Premier League and Bundesliga.The Commission stated that Sorare does not hold a gambling operating license and must appear in Birmingham Magistrates' Court on October 4. Sorare denies the allegations, claiming that its platform does not fall under gambling products.

ChainCatcher news, according to Protos, the Web3 football game Sorare has been accused by the UK Gambling Commission of operating without a license.The Commission stated today: "Sorare is accused of providing gambling facilities without holding an operating license, which violates the Gambling Act 2005. A court hearing is scheduled for October 4."The company disputes the accusation, claiming that the law is being misapplied. Sorare stated: "The Commission has misunderstood our business and incorrectly believes that gambling laws apply to Sorare. We firmly deny any claims that Sorare is a gambling product under UK law."It is reported that Sorare is a football fantasy league game utilizing the Ethereum blockchain, allowing players to trade football cards.

ChainCatcher news, Animoca Brands Japan announced on social media that it has launched its NFT trading platform SORAH.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the interoperability protocol Stripchain has completed a $10 million financing round, led by Sora Ventures, with participation from Hyperithm, Shima Capital, Hypersphere, Mechanism, and Ascensive Assets.It is reported that the startup allows developers to create commands called "intents" to perform operations such as transferring data between blockchains. Based on a system called stripVM, it will enable applications to communicate and coordinate with different protocols.Additionally, the main distinction of this solution from other interoperability protocols lies in its focus on the transaction layer and the use of a proof-of-permission system. Early interoperability solutions targeted the protocol layer (e.g., Cosmos's Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol) or the contract layer through bridging, while Stripchain facilitates data transfer at the user layer.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the rune analysis infrastructure protocol SatScreener has completed a $500,000 Pre-Seed funding round, which was led by Sora Ventures.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the Bitcoin Ordinals browser Ord.io has announced the completion of a $2 million Pre-seed funding round, led by Bitcoin Frontier Fund and Sora Ventures, with participation from Eden Block, Arca, Longhash Ventures, Daxos Capital, Portal Ventures, UTXO Management, Rubik Ventures, VitalTao Capital, Antalpha Ventures, Kommune Fund, Edessa Capital, PetRock Capital, PG Capital, Shake and Bake Productions, Re7 Capital, and Balaji Fund.It is reported that the new funds will be used to help expand the platform and support Runes. The platform allows users to search, browse, and interact with Ordinals inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain, and plans to use the new funding to expand support for the upcoming Runes protocol, which is a new alternative token standard for Bitcoin launching at the time of the halving.