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answer: direct
beat: ai-technology
source: 1 article · updated: August 15, 2026
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Why did OpenAI shut down Sora?

OpenAI shut down the Sora app and sora.com on April 26, 2026, with the Sora API scheduled to end September 24, 2026. Reports indicated Sora was resource-hungry and offered free to users, making it financially unsustainable at scale. As of August 2026, Sora models no longer appear at all on Artificial Analysis' crowd-voted text-to-video leaderboard.

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Sora Is Gone, Veo Is Free, and AI Video Is Now a Platform War

OpenAI shut down Sora in April, Google opened Veo 3.1 for free, and Kling AI hit the App Store top 5 — AI video has completely reshuffled.

Crashtech Editorial August 15, 2026 How AI Actually Works

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