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Disney invests $1 billion in OpenAI and licenses 200 characters for Sora

Disney agreed to a three-year license of more than 200 characters for use in OpenAI's Sora video tool and to invest $1 billion in OpenAI. The deal excludes talent likenesses and voices.

BURBANK, Calif., December 11, 2025 Disney announced a three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI covering more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars for use in Sora, and said it will invest $1 billion in OpenAI.1

Terms of the deal

Users can create short videos with the licensed characters in Sora beginning in early 2026, and the characters will also be available in ChatGPT image generation. The deal covers characters only, not the actors who play or voice them. Disney will host curated Sora-generated videos on Disney+, and OpenAI will help power new streaming experiences.1 The license fee was not disclosed; the $1 billion is an equity investment by Disney.

The public record on this agreement is limited to the announcement and the press coverage cited below. The price is listed here as: Disney to invest $1B in OpenAI; license fee undisclosed. The status shown, Announced, reflects the most recent reporting available on October 22, 2026, and any later amendments are not captured.

Background

Disney employees will also receive ChatGPT access under the arrangement.1 The deal is among the first large licenses of entertainment characters to a generative video product, and it arrived while other studios were still weighing whether to sue or license. The announcement set the character license at three years, which gives both sides a defined window to test usage, safety and revenue before any renewal.

What it means for data sellers

The Disney agreement is a licensing model for brand and character IP, not a bulk data sale. Sellers with distinctive IP can negotiate use-case licenses, equity components and approval rights. Data owners should note that the headline figure here is an investment, not a payment to the licensor.

How the deal came together

  1. Rights holder approach. Disney sought a licensed route for its characters in generative video.
  2. Equity link. Disney paired the license with a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.
  3. Announcement. The companies announced the deal on December 11, 2025.
  4. Rollout. Character videos in Sora were planned for early 2026.

Takeaways for companies with data

  • Equity and license terms can be negotiated together, which makes the headline number hard to read as a license fee.
  • Carve outs for talent likeness and voice are a standard way to limit risk.
  • Generation rights and training rights are separate questions and should be contracted separately.

Sources

Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.

  1. Disney to invest $1 billion in OpenAI, license suite of characters for Sora in landmark deal (TheWrap, December 2025)

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About the AI Data Deal Tracker

SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.