OpenAI exits video generation, clears field for specialists

OpenAI has shut down Sora 2 and effectively exited video generation, according to PixVerse co-founder Jaden Xie. ByteDance's Seedance, Kling AI, Video Rebirth, and Midjourney remain active competitors. PixVerse just closed a $439 million Series C extension, valuation surpassing $2 billion. The departure of a well-resourced generalist competitor removes a layer of pricing pressure but does not necessarily indicate category consolidation around specialists.