In a $1 billion deal, Micky Mouse and friends are coming to OpenAI

The Walt Disney Company has announced a major strategic partnership with OpenAI, inking a deal that will give the AI giant access to Disney’s massive backlog of content and characters, such as the likes of Micky Mouse, Simba, and hundreds of characters across some of the most profitable franchises in the industry.

The deal includes a $1 billion investment in OpenAI (last valued at $500 billion), granting Disney an equity stake and warrants to purchase additional equity, with it becoming a major OpenAI customer.

The announcement was made on Thursday and marks one of the most significant collaborations to date between a major entertainment company and a generative AI provider.

Sora, launched by OpenAI in September, allows users to generate short-form videos by entering text prompts. Under a new three-year licensing agreement, Disney will allow Sora users to create content using more than 200 characters from across its portfolio, including Disney Animation, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars. Access to these characters is expected to begin next year.

Disney CEO Bob Iger described the partnership as a carefully considered step into generative AI, emphasizing that the company aims to expand its storytelling reach while safeguarding creative rights. He said the rapid development of AI represents a pivotal moment for the media industry, and that Disney intends to adopt the technology responsibly, with respect for creators and their work.

Beyond licensing its intellectual property, Disney will deepen its relationship with OpenAI as a customer. As part of the deal, Disney will receive warrants to purchase additional OpenAI equity and will roll out ChatGPT internally for employee use. The company also plans to collaborate with OpenAI to develop new AI-powered tools and digital experiences.

Sora’s debut quickly attracted widespread attention, climbing to the top of Apple’s App Store shortly after launch. However, the platform also sparked controversy as users generated videos featuring well-known brands and fictional characters, raising serious copyright concerns. In October, the Motion Picture Association urged OpenAI to take swift action to prevent infringement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman later said the company was developing more granular controls for character generation to address these issues.

The Disney–OpenAI deal comes amid growing legal tension between media companies and AI developers. Disney recently sent cease-and-desist letters to Google, alleging that Google is using copyrighted content to train AI models without permission. The company has also joined Universal in suing the AI image generator Midjourney and has previously warned Character.AI about the unauthorized use of its characters.

Despite these disputes, Disney’s agreement with OpenAI paves the way for a structured, licensed arrangement between copyright holders and AI companies.