Disney Agrees to Hire Most Character.AI Employees

Chatbot company Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States this month. According to legal filings in the bankruptcy proceedings, Disney has agreed to extend job offers to at least 60 Character.AI employees, covering the majority of its workforce; the total annual compensation for these positions is estimated at approximately $60 million. The filings state that an "overwhelming majority" of the invited employees have accepted the offers. Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, had previously been appointed as Disney’s first Chief Technology Officer. Disney also proposed acquiring a non-exclusive, perpetual license to certain Character.AI assets and related technologies for $20 million. However, this is an initial bid in a bankruptcy sale process; other buyers may still submit higher offers, and the deal cannot yet be considered final. Character.AI stated that despite having a large and active user base, the business has been pressured by high operating costs, potential litigation liabilities, and regulatory issues. The company continues to operate during the sale process; if no solution is ultimately found to support the platform’s continued operation, the service may be shut down. While Disney’s talent acquisition efforts have provided destinations for some employees, this does not imply that Disney will take over the entire Character.AI platform.