Technologies

Disney’s $1B Deal With OpenAI Will Bring Iconic Characters to Sora AI Videos

You’ll be able to create videos with your favorites from Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and more. Certain clips will also be available to watch on Disney Plus.

Disney is bringing more than 200 of its biggest characters, from Marvel to Star Wars and Pixar, to OpenAI’s Sora AI social media app and AI images in a $1 billion equity investment deal, the companies announced on Thursday. That means Sora users will soon be able to generate AI videos featuring any of Disney’s included characters, with no fear of copyright infringement.

Sora is the sister app to ChatGPT. It’s an AI social media app, letting its users create and share AI-generated videos. Its popularity blew up right from its September launch, with the app reaching the No. 1 spot in the Apple and Google Play app stores at the height of its popularity this fall. AI models like Sora have been frequent targets of copyright infringement lawsuits, with copyright holders claiming AI companies are allowing their users to create unauthorized ultra-realistic versions of their protected characters. Disney is currently suing Midjourney AI for this, calling the AI firm «a bottomless pit of plagiarism.» With this new deal with OpenAI, Disney is giving OpenAI explicit permission for Sora to use its intellectual property. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

From what we know so far of the three-year licensing deal, Sora users will have access to over 200 «animated, masked and creature» characters from its most popular franchises beginning in early 2026. Marvel superheroes, Disney princesses and Star Wars icons will all be replicable in AI video clips. Environments (like the world of Encanto), costumes, props and vehicles are also included. Talent likeness — meaning the likenesses of real humans in Disney’s TV shows and movies — is not part of this deal, nor are voices. Theoretically, that means you could create an AI video of Steve Rogers, but it wouldn’t include Chris Evans’ voice.

Part of why the Sora app is so popular is its ability to create extremely realistic depictions of people, which drew a lot of concerns over its deepfake abilities. Celebrities and public figures have been outspoken about the potential harms. The estate of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., actor Bryan Cranston and actors union SAG-AFTRA have all reached out to OpenAI with concerns. Disney and OpenAI said in their statements that the companies «affirmed a shared commitment to maintaining robust controls» to prevent Sora users from creating illegal or harmful content. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the nature of those controls by the time of publication.

«The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,» Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the press release.

The deal also makes Disney «a major customer» of OpenAI. Disney employees will have access to ChatGPT, and the entertainment company will use APIs to «build new products, tools and experiences.» Part of that deal will apply to Disney Plus, with the company saying its Disney Plus streaming subscribers will be able to watch select Sora AI videos on the Disney Plus app. Disney did not respond to a request for comment on other potential use cases for OpenAI’s technology by the time of publication.

For more, check out our guide to copyright and AI and the best AI video generators.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.