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AI-powered video generation model ranking chart showing Alibaba AI climbing to second place as competitors like Sora withdraw

Editorial illustration for Alibaba AI video model climbs to #2 as Sora withdrawal warns firms

Business & Startups

Alibaba AI video model climbs to #2 as Sora withdrawal...

By AI Daily Post Edited by
• Updated: • 4 min read

Alibaba’s AI video model, dubbed HappyHorse, has surged to second place in the global Arena rankings, nudging past Google’s Veo 3.1 and capitalizing on a market that’s suddenly thin. Why does this matter? OpenAI pulled its Sora web and app experiences on April 26, citing a daily burn of roughly $1 million against just $2.1 million in total revenue, while active users fell from a near‑million peak to under 500,000.

The API is slated to disappear on September 24, leaving enterprise teams that built pipelines around Sora to reassess their vendor risk. Meanwhile, ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0, once seen as Sora’s biggest challenger, hit a legal wall: Netflix, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount and Sony threatened action over alleged copyright violations, prompting an indefinite pause to its global rollout. With those two options out of reach, Alibaba’s discounted 40 % launch on Cloud Model Studio—and a price of $1.82 per 10‑second, 720p clip at the 1.0 tier—offers a cheaper, seemingly steadier alternative for businesses hunting AI‑generated video.

For enterprise teams that had integrated Sora into production pipelines, the abrupt withdrawal underscored the risks of depending on AI products that lack a sustainable business model -- a cautionary tale that procurement officers are unlikely to forget quickly.

ByteDance's Seedance 2.0, which many considered Sora's most formidable successor, ran into a different kind of wall. Netflix, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, and Sony sent legal threats to ByteDance over allegations of systematic copyright infringement after users generated viral clips featuring Hollywood intellectual property. ByteDance indefinitely postponed the international launch, and the global rollout remains suspended.

That leaves Google's Veo 3.1 as the primary Western competitor in the enterprise video generation space.

Why this matters

Alibaba’s video model now sits at No. 2 globally, a rank it achieved as OpenAI pulled Sora and ByteDance paused Seedance. For us, the shift signals a narrowing field of enterprise‑grade video generators.

Why did Sora disappear? OpenAI discontinued the web and app experience on April 26 and plans to retire the API by September 24, a move that highlighted the fragility of products without clear revenue streams. Procurement teams, still feeling the sting of abrupt shutdowns, are likely to scrutinize future contracts more closely.

ByteDance’s freeze on Seedance adds another gap, leaving developers and founders with fewer plug‑and‑play options. Alibaba benefits from the timing, but we should ask whether its ascent is sustainable or simply a by‑product of competitors’ missteps. The market may reward stability, yet it remains unclear if Alibaba can maintain its momentum as the only major contender.

Our takeaway: weigh business viability as heavily as technical promise when selecting AI video tools.

Further Reading

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Common Questions Answered

Why did OpenAI discontinue Sora and what was the financial reason behind it?

OpenAI pulled Sora's web and app experiences on April 26 due to unsustainable economics, with the service burning approximately $1 million daily against only $2.1 million in total revenue. The company plans to fully retire the API by September 24, signaling that the product lacked a clear revenue model to justify its operational costs.

How did Alibaba's HappyHorse model benefit from Sora's withdrawal?

Alibaba's HappyHorse AI video model climbed to second place in the global Arena rankings after OpenAI pulled Sora and ByteDance paused Seedance, capitalizing on a suddenly thin market. This shift indicates that HappyHorse surpassed Google's Veo 3.1 to claim the #2 position as competing products exited the space.

What does the discontinuation of Sora signal about enterprise-grade video generators?

The withdrawal of Sora and the pause of Seedance signal a narrowing field of enterprise-grade video generators, highlighting the fragility of AI products without sustainable revenue streams. This consolidation in the market has left procurement teams concerned about the reliability and longevity of video generation solutions they depend on.

What is Alibaba's HappyHorse and where does it rank globally?

HappyHorse is Alibaba's AI video model that has surged to the second position in the global Arena rankings. It achieved this ranking by outperforming Google's Veo 3.1 in a market that became less competitive following the departure of major players like OpenAI's Sora.

Further Reading

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