OpenAI's new Sora application, a generative AI video tool, launched on September 30th and recorded 56,000 downloads on its debut day, according to data compiled by app intelligence provider Appfigures. The application swiftly ascended to the No. 3 position on the U.S. App Store's overall charts within two days, indicating robust initial user engagement despite its invite-only access and geographic limitation to users in the U.S. and Canada.
Appfigures reported that Sora's iOS application accumulated an estimated 164,000 installs during its first two days of availability, spanning September 30th and October 1st. This early performance positions Sora's launch ahead of several other significant AI app debuts in terms of day-one downloads, including Anthropic's Claude and Microsoft's Copilot.
A comparative analysis by Appfigures, which adjusted for varying launch strategies by focusing on U.S. and Canadian download figures for all applications, revealed that Sora's day-one download count of 56,000 installations matched xAI's Grok. This figure surpassed Claude's 21,000 and Copilot's 7,000 day-one downloads. However, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini exhibited stronger initial performance, with 81,000 and 80,000 downloads respectively on their first day.
Beyond initial downloads, Sora's rapid ascent to the No. 3 overall position on the U.S. App Store by its second day also demonstrates considerable market penetration for a new AI offering. For context, ChatGPT reached the No. 1 spot on its second day, while Grok achieved No. 4, Gemini No. 6, Copilot No. 19, and Claude No. 78 within similar launch periods.
The observed demand for AI video generation tools, even within a consumer social networking context, underscores the growing public appetite for advanced generative AI capabilities. OpenAI's strategic expansion into user-facing applications like Sora follows its established presence in other AI domains, reflecting broader trends in AI model development and deployment across various market segments.
