Sora beats ChatGPT’s iOS debut despite invite-only rollout, claims report

OpenAI

OpenAI’s new video-generating app Sora has become an overnight hit, climbing to the No. 1 spot on the US App Store and surpassing ChatGPT’s iOS launch numbers — despite being invite-only.

According to data from Appfigures, Sora clocked 627,000 iOS downloads in its first week after launching on 30 September. That’s slightly ahead of ChatGPT’s 606,000 installs during its debut week in 2023.

However, the comparison isn’t perfect. ChatGPT was initially available only in the U.S., while Sora launched in both the US and Canada. Appfigures estimates Canada contributed around 45,000 downloads, meaning Sora’s US figures alone would be about 96% of ChatGPT’s.

Even so, the feat is notable given Sora’s invite-only rollout. On day one, it recorded 56,000 installs, climbing to No. 3 overall on the App Store before hitting No. 1 by 3 October. That performance puts it ahead of rival AI app debuts like Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and roughly on par with xAI’s Grok launch.

Sora uses OpenAI’s latest Sora 2 model, capable of generating photorealistic videos from text prompts — and social media feeds are already overflowing with examples. But the app’s virality has sparked unease too, as users began creating AI deepfakes of deceased people, prompting Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams, to publicly urge users to stop sending her AI-generated images of her father.

Appfigures’ data shows Sora’s downloads peaked at 107,800 on 1 October, before settling between 84,000 and 98,000 daily installs through 6 October — strong momentum for an app that’s still not fully open to everyone.