Disney agrees to hire most of Character.AI's staff

Disney moves in during bankruptcy

Character Technologies, the owner of the AI-powered chat platform Character.AI, filed for bankruptcy protection last week and launched a formal process to sell its assets. Disney had already entered the picture with a $20 million bid.

Offers to at least 60 employees

According to court documents obtained by Bloomberg, Disney agreed to hire most of Character.AI's staff and extended offers to at least 60 employees. The annual cost of those offers is expected to total around $60 million, and a large majority of the employees who received offers accepted.

Former CEO now at Disney

Character.AI's former CEO, Karandeep Anand, recently started as Disney's first CTO, part of the company's push to build out its AI team.

The sale is not finished

The deal does not mean the sale of Character.AI's assets is complete. Disney's bid is part of a court-supervised sale process that allows other companies to submit higher offers.

What is weighing on the company

Character.AI is under pressure from high operating costs and legal proceedings over child safety. The company faces a lawsuit from a mother who alleges her 14-year-old son died by suicide after interacting with one of the platform's chatbots. Public agencies are also investigating the platform over child-safety concerns.