OpenAI’s Warning Shot to China Video Rivals: Catherine Thorbecke

On the surface, OpenAI’s decision to kill off its video-generating platform Sora looks like a gift to China’s rising crop of rivals.

The initial bump in user growth suggests as much. So does the money: In-app purchase revenue for Kuaishou Technology’s Kling, already one of the rare Chinese AI apps to show real signs of monetization, rose 4% the week of the unexpected announcement, and another 9% the following week, according to Sensor Tower.

But Sora’s demise should worry China’s hopefuls. When one of the world’s most valuable startups decides video generation is too expensive and messy, that’s not simply a market ...