OpenAI's Sora soars to No. 3 on the US App Store | TechCrunch
Key Takeaways
- OpenAI's Sora app saw 56,000 downloads on its first day and quickly became the No. 3 Top Overall app on the U.S. App Store.
- Sora's launch performance is strong compared to competitors like Claude and Copilot, though slightly behind ChatGPT and Gemini's initial download numbers.
- The app's initial availability is restricted by an invite-only system and limited to users in the U.S. and Canada.
- Appfigures conducted a comparative analysis focusing only on U.S. and Canadian downloads to account for varying launch strategies among AI apps.
- The strong early adoption indicates high consumer demand for AI video tools delivered in a more accessible, social networking-like experience.
OpenAIâs invite-only Sora app for AI videos has proven to be a viral success, garnering 56,000 downloads on its first day and reaching the No. 3 spot on the U.S. App Store charts by day two. Appfigures data estimates 164,000 total installs across September 30th and October 1st, positioning Sora's debut ahead of launches from Anthropicâs Claude and Microsoftâs Copilot, and on par with xAIâs Grok. Although OpenAIâs ChatGPT and Googleâs Gemini had stronger initial day-one performances with around 80,000 downloads each, the comparison is complicated by Sora's current invite-only status and regional limitations. Appfigures adjusted its analysis to compare U.S. and Canadian downloads for a fairer comparison, where Sora tied Grok at 56,000 day-one installs, significantly outperforming Claude (21,000) and Copilot (7,000). This strong showing suggests significant consumer appetite for social networking-style AI video tools, even as some within OpenAI prefer a focus on more complex societal problems. Despite the restrictions, Sora's chart performance (No. 3 overall) was strong, trailing only ChatGPT (No. 1) and Grok (No. 4) by the second day.
