OpenAI is in discussions with a startup co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Sora research lead Bill Peebles and ex-Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa about giving it access to Sora, The Information reported on 12 October, citing a source familiar with the matter. If the deal proceeds, OpenAI would receive a stake in the startup, according to ForkLog’s account of the report.
The startup is developing AI video for filmmakers and wants to use Sora to sell software and other services, the report said. On 17 October The Information described the talks as a sign that OpenAI’s “retreat from expensive side projects may be reversing”.
Business Pill · CROSS-LICENSING
A one-minute explainer of licensing technology to another company. It teaches the general idea only and says nothing about OpenAI, Sora or these talks.
The key insight: As we read it, the reported deal would put Sora back to work without OpenAI running it: the startup would get deep enough access to substantially customize the model, according to The Information, and OpenAI would receive a stake if the deal goes through, according to ForkLog’s account of the report.
According to PYMNTS’s account of the 12 October report, the startup “wants to access Sora and use it to sell software and other services”. The Information said the name of the startup is unclear.
It is also unclear whether the startup would be given access to Sora’s weights, the report added. If the deal proceeds, the startup would still get deep enough access to substantially customize the model, the source told The Information.
ForkLog, summarising the same report, wrote that “If the deal goes through, OpenAI will receive a stake in the company.”
OpenAI announced on 24 March that it would discontinue the Sora app, and Sora research lead Bill Peebles left OpenAI in April, according to ForkLog. On 12 October The Information reported that OpenAI is in talks with a startup co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Peebles and Sujay Jaswa about access to Sora; accounts of the report say OpenAI would receive a stake if a deal goes through. No financial terms were reported. Sources: The Information, via PYMNTS, ForkLog and Crypto Briefing.
What Was Posted on X
OpenAI’s retreat from expensive side projects may be reversing as the company explores a deal to revive Sora while expanding its efforts in robotics, creator tools and personal devices.
The Information posted this on X at 21:30 UTC on 17 October, linking to its report โOpenAIโs Plan To Revive Soraโ. It says OpenAIโs retreat from expensive side projects โmay be reversingโ as the company explores a deal to revive Sora and expands its work in robotics, creator tools and personal devices. The deal terms in this piece come from accounts of that report, not from the post.
Who Is Behind the Startup
ForkLog describes Katzenberg as a Hollywood producer and former head of Walt Disney Studios. He and Jaswa also run the investment firm WndrCo, according to PYMNTS and ForkLog.
Peebles led research on Sora at OpenAI. ForkLog reports that he left OpenAI in April, shortly after the project was shelved. The Information wrote that sharing the weights would not be surprising, because Peebles knows how the model works.
ForkLog adds that the startup first came to light on 9 September, when reports said the team planned to train its own video models and was discussing significant funding with investors including Andreessen Horowitz.
Why Sora Was Shelved
OpenAI introduced Sora in 2025 and began winding down its video AI efforts earlier this year, PYMNTS writes, as part of a wider effort to scale back side projects and focus on core business lines ahead of an initial public offering.
The Information’s own summary says that earlier this year OpenAI “canned both the model and the TikTok-like app it powered”. ForkLog dates OpenAI’s announcement that it would discontinue the Sora app to 24 March.
The 17 October Framing
The Information returned to the story on X on 17 October:
“OpenAI’s retreat from expensive side projects may be reversing as the company explores a deal to revive Sora while expanding its efforts in robotics, creator tools and personal devices.”
As we read it, the arrangement described would turn a shelved product into a holding: OpenAI keeps a stake in the business built on Sora, per ForkLog, while the startup, not OpenAI, sells the software and services, per PYMNTS’s account of the report.
As we read it, the person who would carry the model across is its former research lead: The Information wrote that sharing the weights would not be surprising because Peebles knows how the model works, and ForkLog reports he left OpenAI in April.
As we read it, the talks run against the reason Sora was shelved: PYMNTS writes that OpenAI wound down its video efforts to focus on core business lines ahead of an IPO, and The Information’s 17 October post says that retreat “may be reversing”.
The Information, on X, 17 October 2026
“OpenAI’s retreat from expensive side projects may be reversing as the company explores a deal to revive Sora while expanding its efforts in robotics, creator tools and personal devices.”
Three Implications
FILMMAKERS AND STUDIOS The startup is developing AI video for filmmakers and wants to use Sora to sell software and other services, according to PYMNTS’s account of the report.
OPENAI’S SHAREHOLDERS Accounts of the report say OpenAI would receive a stake in the startup if a deal goes through; no size or terms were reported.
RIVAL VIDEO-MODEL MAKERS The Information said it is unclear whether Sora’s weights would be shared, but that the startup would get deep enough access to substantially customize the model.
The framework opens with two curves: “The first is what your underlying technology can do. The second is what your users can actually do with it.”
As we read it, Sora is a case of the first curve without the second: OpenAI built the model, then shut the app it powered, and the talks described by The Information would hand the job of surfacing it to a startup for filmmakers. The framework was published in June 2026 and does not discuss Sora.
What Is Not Established
OpenAI has not commented publicly on the talks in the material we read. The reports do not give financial terms, the size of any stake, the startup’s name or a timetable, and The Information said it is unclear whether Sora’s weights would be shared.
We could not read The Information’s article directly; it is paywalled. This piece relies on The Information’s own post and link card and on full accounts of its report by PYMNTS, ForkLog and Crypto Briefing. We did not contact OpenAI or the startup’s founders.
Business Engineer Framework
The Product Overhang Doctrine
A Business Engineer analysis of the gap between what a model can do and what products surface.
The Information reports that OpenAI is discussing giving a Katzenberg-backed startup for filmmakers deep access to Sora, the video model it shelved earlier this year, and accounts of the report say OpenAI would take a stake if a deal goes through.
No terms have been reported, and OpenAI has not commented in the material we read.
A note on sourcing. This piece is based on The Information’s post on X of 17 October 2026 and its link card, and on full accounts of The Information’s 12 October report published by PYMNTS, ForkLog and Crypto Briefing. We could not read The Information’s article directly because it is paywalled, and we did not contact OpenAI or the startup’s founders. The reference to our earlier reporting links to our own piece.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur, HackerNoon and Search Engine People. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
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