‘Creativity is the new productivity’: Bob Iger on why Disney chose to be ‘aggressive,’ adding OpenAI as a $1 billion partner

In a landmark move that signals a definitive shift in how major media conglomerates approach artificial intelligence (AI), OpenAI has gone from the company that had unapproved Disney princesses being made from its tools to a $1 billion partnership with the house of mouse itself. Disney CEO Bob Iger unpacked the deal jointly with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a TV interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, explaining “we’d rather participate in the rather dramatic growth, rather than just watching it happen and essentially being disrupted by it.” He also reframed the issue of how AI is reshaping entertainment, business, even work itself: “Someone once said to me that creativity is the new productivity, and I think you’re starting to see that more and more.”

The deal, which brings Disney’s intellectual property to OpenAI’s video generation platform Sora, is structured to balance “aggressive” intellectual property protection with a willingness to embrace inevitable technological disruption, Iger said. Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Disney will license approximately 200 characters for use within Sora, allowing users to create short-form videos featuring iconic figures ranging from Mickey Mouse to Star Wars personalities.

Iger framed the partnership not as a concession to AI, but as a necessary evolution—and one that is actually good for human artists. This is because the de...