Walt Disney and OpenAI have reached a cooperation agreement under which Disney licenses its classic characters for use on Sora, OpenAI's video generation platform. Bloomberg reports that OpenAI did not pay a traditional cash licensing fee to obtain Disney's IP this time, but instead provided stock purchase warrants, allowing Disney to buy OpenAI shares at an agreed price in the future, on top of its existing US$1 billion equity stake.
Such an arrangement helps ease OpenAI's cash pressure and avoids potential legal disputes, allowing the company to focus its capital on products and competition. For Disney, the bet is on OpenAI's future growth. If Sora succeeds and OpenAI's valuation rises further, the potential returns from these equity stakes could exceed those of a one-off licensing fee. The interests of both parties are tied together, with success or failure directly reflected in stock value.
The two companies announced last week that they had signed a three-year licensing agreement under which Disney will open access to more than 200 classic characters for use in Sora video generation and ChatGPT image generation features. Only the first year is exclusive; after the term expires, Disney may engage in similar partnerships with other AI companies.
Disney will also invest US$1 billion in OpenAI based on the company's current valuation of around US$500 billion, marking the largest equity investment by a Hollywood studio in an AI company to date.
OpenAI and Disney both declined to comment on the report.
Article edited by Jack Wu
