YouTube Shorts + Veo Shifts Attention to Distribution Saturation
AI clip generation inside Shorts shifts the bottleneck from creation to platform saturation and signal quality.
Desk coverage
Distribution Intelligence
12 stories in this desk · last updated Feb 24, 2026.
9:16 Became a Battleground, and Horizontal-First Teams Are Scrambling
Vertical output is now first-class in major model updates, changing how teams design creative pipelines.
The Credit-Economy Gold Rush: Contests Are Becoming Growth Engines for AI Video Platforms
Platform contests and credit incentives are driving creator acquisition and feature adoption loops.
What the AI Video Timeline Is Actually Posting Right Now (Not What Press Releases Say)
A social snapshot shows creator focus clustering around motion control, voice features, and continuity tests.
The X Watchlist Heating Up the AI Video Jam Scene This Week
Official model accounts and creator-heavy feeds show where features are actually sticking in production practice.
Sora Enters the Retention Test After Its Early Download Spike
Post-launch download cooling reframed the Sora conversation around repeat usage and creator retention rather than launch-day momentum.
Sora App Momentum Cools as Daily Downloads Slide From Launch Peaks
New app-store tracking cited by TechCrunch showed Sora daily downloads down roughly 32% month over month by late January after an early breakout run.
OpenAI Kills Sora Free Tier, Locks Video Generation Behind $20/Month Paywall
OpenAI discontinued free access to Sora 2 on January 10, citing unsustainable GPU demand, restricting all video and image generation to Plus and Pro subscribers only.
$1 Million AI Film Award Goes to Tunisian Creator at Dubai Summit
Tunisian filmmaker Zoubeir ElJlassi won the $1 million Global AI Film Award at the 1 Billion Followers Summit for "Lily," selected from 3,500 entries reviewed by 40 expert judges.
MiniMax Shares Double on First Day as Hailuo Parent Raises $619M in Hong Kong IPO
MiniMax, the company behind Hailuo AI video generation, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 9, with shares closing up 109% at HK$345 and market cap exceeding $9.8 billion.
Sora Expands to Latin America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia
OpenAI rolled out Sora access to 15 additional countries by the end of December, including Argentina, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, significantly broadening its international creator base.
Kling AI Hits $240 Million Annualized Revenue Run Rate as Creator Base Tops 60 Million
Kuaishou disclosed that Kling AI exceeded $20 million in monthly revenue by December 2025, translating to a $240M ARR, with over 60 million creators and 600 million videos generated.