OpenAI previews Sora, a text-to-video 'world simulator'
OpenAI previewed Sora, a diffusion-transformer model generating up to a minute of high-fidelity video from text, framing video generation as a path toward general-purpose simulators of the physical world.
Key facts
- Previewed 15 February 2024 (red-teamers and selected artists only)
- Generated videos up to one minute long
- Diffusion transformer operating on spacetime patches
- Publicly released to ChatGPT Plus/Pro users on 9 December 2024
- Succeeded by Sora 2 in September 2025
What happened
OpenAI released sample videos showing a dramatic leap in coherence, length and realism over previous text-to-video systems.
Why it matters
Reset expectations for AI video overnight and triggered a video-generation race (Veo, Kling, Runway Gen-3).
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
Videos (4)
匚尺丨ㄒㄒ乇尺乙 — REMASTERED with Sora
OpenAI · 2025-02-13 · ai-madeThis video, uploaded by OpenAI, presents a side-by-side comparison of the animated short film Critterz, comparing the original version created in 2023 using DALL·E 2 against a version remastered using OpenAI's video generation model Sora. Directed by Chad Nelson (Native Foreign), the comedic short follows "Dennis"…
Washed Out - The Hardest Part (Official Video)
Washed Out · 2024-05-02 · ai-madeThis is the official music video for "The Hardest Part" by electronic music artist Washed Out (Ernest Greene), directed by filmmaker Paul Trillo. The video depicts a decades-spanning romantic relationship through an unbroken, hyper-fluid forward camera motion generated entirely using OpenAI's Sora text-to-video AI…
air head · Made by shy kids with Sora
OpenAI · 2024-04-05 · ai-made"air head" is a narrative short film created by Toronto-based multimedia collective shy kids and released by OpenAI to demonstrate the creative capabilities of its Sora text-to-video generation model. The film follows a man whose head is a buoyant yellow balloon as he navigates daily life, social interactions, and…
Will Smith Eating Spaghetti AI Video - (2023 vs 2024)
Just A Happy Troll · 2024-02-28 · ai-madeUploaded by the channel "Just A Happy Troll," this video contrasts the viral early-2023 AI-generated footage of Will Smith eating spaghetti with the 2024 follow-up meme where the real Will Smith filmed a live-action parody of the AI clips. It highlights the rapid cultural evolution of the "Will Smith eating…
Related events
- Google's Veo 3 generates video with native audio ★★★★
- OpenAI launches Sora 2 and the Sora social app ★★★★
- Google DeepMind's Genie 3 generates interactive worlds in real time ★★★★
Sources (2)
id: 2024-02-15-sora · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline