OpenAI’s Sora tops 1 million downloads, surpasses ChatGPT’s iOS debut

Invite-only and iOS-exclusive, Sora’s record-breaking launch shows how fast consumers are shifting from text to video in the AI era

by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 10, 2025 3:08 PM | 2 min read

OpenAI’s video-generation app Sora has taken the App Store by storm, surpassing even ChatGPT’s early success. According to data from app intelligence firm Appfigures, Sora notched 627,000 iOS downloads within its first week, outpacing ChatGPT’s 606,000 during its debut. OpenAI later confirmed that Sora crossed the one-million-download mark in under five days, setting a new benchmark for AI app launches.

What makes this rise even more remarkable is Sora’s exclusivity. While ChatGPT’s app was publicly available at launch, Sora remains invite-only and currently operates only on iOS across the U.S. and Canada. Even so, Canadian downloads accounted for just 45,000 installs, meaning Sora’s U.S. traction alone nearly matched ChatGPT’s performance.

Read On: OpenAI launches AI video generation tool Sora

Sora reached the No. 3 spot on the U.S. App Store on launch day and claimed the top position by October 3, edging past rival AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude, Microsoft’s Copilot, and xAI’s Grok. Its appeal lies in the new Sora 2 video model, which lets users create hyper-realistic AI-generated videos, including controversial deep fakes.

Appfigures data shows steady momentum since its September 30 release, peaking at 107,800 daily downloads on October 1. Despite fluctuating between 84,000 and 98,000 daily installs later in the week, Sora’s early trajectory underscores a larger trend, consumers are embracing generative video tools at unprecedented speed, setting the stage for AI-powered visual storytelling to go mainstream.