Source-linked reporting on AI video models, workflows, and policy.
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18 stories in this desk · last updated Mar 25, 2026.
OpenAI announced it will discontinue the Sora video platform and API, ending its Disney character licensing partnership before any money changed hands. CEO Sam Altman said the company will redirect resources to AI agents and a new model called Spud.
PixVerse closed a $300 million Series C led by CDH Investments, pushing its valuation past $1 billion and accelerating global expansion in AI video generation.
AI clip generation inside Shorts shifts the bottleneck from creation to platform saturation and signal quality.
Vertical output is now first-class in major model updates, changing how teams design creative pipelines.
Platform contests and credit incentives are driving creator acquisition and feature adoption loops.
A social snapshot shows creator focus clustering around motion control, voice features, and continuity tests.
Official model accounts and creator-heavy feeds show where features are actually sticking in production practice.
OpenAI is closing the largest private funding round in history, with Amazon committing roughly $50 billion, SoftBank $30 billion, and Nvidia $20 billion, pushing the overall valuation past $850 billion ahead of a planned IPO later in 2026.
Anthropic closed a $30 billion Series G led by GIC and Coatue, valuing the company at $380 billion post-money, marking the second-largest venture round in history and funding expansion across enterprise, safety research, and infrastructure.
Pika unveiled AI Selves, letting users create autonomous AI avatars that can set up X accounts and tweet independently, in a retro-futuristic campaign that topped X trending news for two consecutive days.
Luma AI announced The Luma Dream Brief, a global creative competition offering $1 million to any work created using Luma AI tools that wins a 2026 Cannes Lions Gold Lion, with submissions due by March 22.
Post-launch download cooling reframed the Sora conversation around repeat usage and creator retention rather than launch-day momentum.
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 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.
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, 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.
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.
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.