Disney making $1 billion investment in OpenAI, will allow characters on Sora AI video generator

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's quite possible there is some major info they have that we don't have access to - Bob certainly knew the right time to leave the first time around before the rest of the world did, after all -

That one isn’t a mystery

An idiot blabbed to Bob Woodward in 2022 about what the National security assessments were circa December 2019…massive causalities and full economic collapse. Rich people always get the info first. So putting 1+1 together…is not hard to see why big shot bobby left in a rush with dribble down his leg.

The problem is he embarrassed himself by biting and heading for the exit alone.
Looked like a fool as money was printed…so then had to stage his own Reichstag fire in Burbank for his ego.

The truth isn’t hard in this case

 

[lentesta]

Sir are you valuing OpenAI at $50T? The total market cap of the NYSE is around $30T

My bad. It's 0.2%. Numbers are stupid.

 

[JAN J]

My bad. It's 0.2%. Numbers are stupid.

No issues at all sir! I agree, over $160b market cap for OpenAI is wild.

I will say that from so many things that I think Disney did that really ruined the brand and the company, this one does not look like one, at least so far.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No issues at all sir! I agree, over $160b market cap for OpenAI is wild.

I will say that from so many things that I think Disney did that really ruined the brand and the company, this one does not look like one, at least so far.

It looks desperate

A strategic move that appears to be late on the train.

They’re flailing trying to invent “value” with no clear direction in the business they’re actually in.

The current plan appears to be make trillions off wdw customers

What could go wrong?

 

[monothingie]

It looks desperate

A strategic move that appears to be late on the train.

They’re flailing trying to invent “value” with no clear direction in the business they’re actually in.

The current plan appears to be make trillions off wdw customers

What could go wrong?

What do they have left?

D+ is meh
Studios is bleh (1 or 2 hits for how many bombs)
Sports is bleh
Sports betting is though
Linear TV is bleh
Parks are for now.

Time to split the company up.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What do they have left?

D+ is meh
Studios is bleh (1 or 2 hits for how many bombs)
Sports is bleh
Sports betting is though
Linear TV is bleh
Parks are for now.

Time to split the company up.

It has to be taken private to survive

The writing has been on the wall for quite sometime

It can be run for a tidy profit…but not for an increasing one 4X a year…year over year with no exceptions

 

[Disstevefan1]

Didn’t you hear? AI will be the salvation of TWDC!

 

[britain]

These two posts make me think we might have a "Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo" situation here. (You've all seen 'Vertigo', of course.)

 

[Kamikaze]

See DotCom... but know what? Things corrected and everything built in that time actually became the foundation for the next era of rising tide.

If you want to talk stock price.. you have a discussion, but stock prices are not really rational in the first place. If you think AI is gonna go away.. you're mistaken. Just like e-everything didn't actually go away when all those companies imploded due to gross spending and free money.

Going away completely and the bubble bursting are two completely different things.

 

[networkpro]

These two posts make me think we might have a "Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo" situation here. (You've all seen 'Vertigo', of course.)

View attachment 896965

IMHO Iger is flailing as he sees disruption, but can only toss money at organizations he thinks might survive in hopes he might benefit or at least be part of the cool kids club. A billion is insignificant for AI and only represents 5 days of OpenAI's 2025 cash burndown.

 

[flynnibus]

Going away completely and the bubble bursting are two completely different things.

Yes, hence the entire point of the second sentence you quoted.. ."If you want to talk stock price.."

That was my entire point.. don't try to cite boom/bust cycles when talking about the relevancy/legitimacy of the tech. The investment boom/bust cycle is a function of how investors behave.. not as much the field those companies are trying to cover. Which is why we have boom/busts in all kinds of spaces.. not just dotcom or AI.

 

[Kamikaze]

Yes, hence the entire point of the second sentence you quoted.. ."If you want to talk stock price.."

That was my entire point.. don't try to cite boom/bust cycles when talking about the relevancy/legitimacy of the tech. The investment boom/bust cycle is a function of how investors behave.. not as much the field those companies are trying to cover. Which is why we have boom/busts in all kinds of spaces.. not just dotcom or AI.

Hence you started off with 'Never going away' when I never said it would.

 

[flynnibus]

Hence you started off with 'Never going away' when I never said it would.

and why my post was saying SEPARATE THE STOCK PRICE DISCUSSION from any talk about 'collapse' of AI or the industry.

 

[el_super]

IMHO Iger is flailing as he sees disruption, but can only toss money at organizations he thinks might survive in hopes he might benefit or at least be part of the cool kids club. A billion is insignificant for AI and only represents 5 days of OpenAI's 2025 cash burndown.

I think Iger is more saavy than people here want to admit. I'd also argue that Iger probably wouldn't want to make any sort of AI deal personally, but the risk of Disney NOT being, even minimally, involved in this space is too great. Even if Iger didn't want to make a deal, the board would have insisted.

In context, with the general de-valuing of entertainment, the audience, and studios along with them, will continue to race to the bottom. It's easy to say Disney shouldn't be involved in AI, but what if Netflix or Paramount go all-in and see financial success because of it? Unless audiences turn away from AI, Disney will have to adopt. Better sooner than later.

I think there's also a bit of legal strategy at play here too--by making a deal with OpenAI for IP rights, they can start to establish some case law on how IP rights should be managed with AI learning models and content generation. Another area where getting in early is going to help Disney in the long run.

Protecting their IP, adopting new technologies, making connections and networking are all things that I get has excelled at.

 

[Disney Irish]

Food for thought -

The Billion-Dollar Sandbox: Why Disney’s Deal With OpenAI Is The “Netflix Moment” For GenAI — TVREV

Disney's $1 billion OpenAI deal is a game-changer for IP licensing, but by feeding its core characters and stories to a third-party platform, the company risks repeating the "Netflix mistake."

www.tvrev.com

Also is it really that much of a coincidence that only a few months after Netflix announced a revamp of their service with OpenAI that Disney invests in it -

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/07/netflix-homepage-app-revamp-openai-tool.html

This is a strategic play.

 

[Kamikaze]

and why my post was saying SEPARATE THE STOCK PRICE DISCUSSION from any talk about 'collapse' of AI or the industry.

But how else would you measure whether or not the bubble has burst (or even if a bubble exists) without bringing in the relevant stock prices?

 

[flynnibus]

But how else would you measure whether or not the bubble has burst (or even if a bubble exists) without bringing in the relevant stock prices?

The point is talk about stock price bubbles is not the defining element of relevance, value, or usefulness of the industry/tech. So not every discussion needs to keep going back to stock price bubbles.

If you want to talk about stock price bubbles.. you can have that talk about inventor and stock market behaviors. But if the conversation is moving around the creative or social quandries about AI... simple point is we don't gaf about stock market action. Barging in like 'so when is the collapse going to happen?' is basically just trolling.

 

[CoastalElite64]

The point is talk about stock price bubbles is not the defining element of relevance, value, or usefulness of the industry/tech. So not every discussion needs to keep going back to stock price bubbles.

If you want to talk about stock price bubbles.. you can have that talk about inventor and stock market behaviors. But if the conversation is moving around the creative or social quandries about AI... simple point is we don't gaf about stock market action. Barging in like 'so when is the collapse going to happen?' is basically just trolling.

You may not like it but discussing the stock market is a valid discussion. Especially in a topic about Disney investing in it.

Another reason why stocks matter is because this technology has much different infrastructure requirements than past technologies mentioned.

 

[Disney Irish]

You may not like it but discussing the stock market is a valid discussion. Especially in a topic about Disney investing in it.

Another reason why stocks matter is because this technology has much different infrastructure requirements than past technologies mentioned.

Ok, lets play this out since you guys seem to just want to talk about the stock market.

The bubble bursts in August 2026 (just picked a random date), and it takes a bunch of the AI companies with it, maybe even OpenAI (hard to do because its private, but whatever). And?

Does that mean the AI revolution ends because the bubble burst? No, it just means that sanity returns back to the market but investment continues.
Does that mean Disney gets out of AI because the bubble burst and maybe took OpenAI with it? No, because AI is still a technological advancement and a tool that will be used in all industries including Hollywood. So whether its OpenAI or another AI company Disney will still need to invest in AI.

So the bubble bursting and the stock market fall out from that is completely separate from the technology. Also while the current infrastructure requirements today are greater than past technological advancements, that doesn't mean it'll remain that way forever. A single computer used to fill up an entire room, now it fits in the palm of your hand. A smart phone has more power than the entire Apollo program. Improvements in infrastructure happens alongside the technological advancements. So just because huge data centers are being built now in 2025 to house all the AI infrastructure doesn't mean that same infrastructure capacity will be needed 5, 10 , 15 years from now. Infrastructure shrinkage is almost guaranteed to happen.

 

[networkpro]

You may not like it but discussing the stock market is a valid discussion. Especially in a topic about Disney investing in it.

Another reason why stocks matter is because this technology has much different infrastructure requirements than past technologies mentioned.

A significantly higher burn rate while the initial dedicated facilities are constructed but what's unknown at this time is what the ongoing costs will be once these facilities come online. Right now the Southern Company is projecting data centers to drive 80% of its business growth through 2028 (I'll list its coverages below)

• Regulated Electric Utilities (Core Southeast): Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi.
• Southern Power (Wholesale Generation): 15 states including AL, CA, GA, KS, ME, NC, OK, NV, NM, DE.