Disney has agreed to hire most of Character.AI’s staff following the chatbot startup’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Court papers filed in Delaware show Disney’s proposed staffing deal is valued at about $180 million over three years, covering employees’ pay and retention, with an annual figure reported at roughly $60 million.
Outlets also note the terms are subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge. Bloomberg and others report that Disney has offered around $20 million for Character.AI assets, and that a rival bidder may seek to outbid Disney for those assets. TechCrunch adds additional context that Character.AI’s former CEO Karandeep Anand has become Disney’s first CTO, aligning the company’s AI leadership with the proposed hiring arrangement. The reports converge on Disney’s intent to absorb much of Character.AI’s workforce while the broader bankruptcy process continues.
