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(Sharecast News) - The Walt Disney Company has announced a $1bn equity investment in OpenAI which will see the latter's Sora platform use Disney characters to generate user-prompted social videos.
The three-year licensing agreement is the first major content licensing agreement with Sora, OpenAI's short-form generative AI video platform.
Sora will be able to generate short videos to be viewed and shared by consumers, drawing on more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from the Disney universe - which extends to the Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises.
OpenAI's ChatGPT Images will also be able to draw from the same intellectual property to create fully generated images following prompts from users.
"The agreement does not include any talent likenesses or voices," Disney said in a statement.
Attempting to reassure the inevitable rise in concerns about the deal's impact on how AI interacts with Disney's intellectual property, the companies said they had a "shared commitment to the responsible use of AI that protects user safety and the rights of creators".
"Together, the companies will advance human-centred AI that respects the creative industries and expands what is possible for storytelling," the statement said.
"The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works," said Disney chief executive Bob Iger.
"Bringing together Disney's iconic stories and characters with OpenAI's groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we've never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love."
Disney shares were up 1.4% at $110.37 by 1624 GMT.
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