OpenAI’s Sora soars to No. 3 on the U.S. App Store

OpenAI's latest application, Sora, which specializes in AI-generated videos, has quickly gained popularity, achieving impressive download numbers despite its current invite-only status limited to users in the U.S. and Canada. On its launch day, Sora recorded 56,000 downloads, swiftly climbing to become the third most popular app overall in the U.S. App Store, according to data from Appfigures, a leading app intelligence firm. In total, the app amassed around 164,000 installs within its first two days, specifically on September 30 and October 1. This initial performance surpasses that of notable AI applications like Anthropic’s Claude and Microsoft’s Copilot, and is comparable to the launch of xAI’s Grok. Although both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini achieved stronger launches with over 80,000 downloads on their first day, the invite-only nature of Sora could imply that its potential reach was constrained. The rapid ascent of Sora in the app rankings underscores a growing consumer interest in AI video tools that incorporate social networking elements. This trend, however, has sparked some internal debate at OpenAI, where certain team members advocate for a focus on solving more complex challenges that could significantly benefit society. Nonetheless, the app's quirky features, including playful deepfake videos of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have resonated with users. Appfigures conducted a focused analysis to compare Sora's early downloads with those of other AI applications, specifically looking at trends in the U.S. and Canada. Given the varied launch strategies among these apps, this approach helped provide a clearer picture of their respective performances. For instance, while Sora matched Grok's initial install numbers, it significantly outperformed Claude and Copilot, which had only 21,000 and 7,000 downloads on their first day, respectively. By the end of its second day, Sora had solidified its place in the top charts, sitting at No. 3 overall. In contrast, ChatGPT had reached the top spot by day two, while Grok, Gemini, Copilot, and Claude occupied the fourth, sixth, nineteenth, and seventy-eighth positions, respectively.