Disney names its first-ever CTO, hired from Character.AI
Disney has appointed a chief technology officer for the first time in its history, bringing in former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand. The move is notable given that Disney sent the chatbot startup cease-and-desist letters over copyright issues just a year ago.
Disney has announced the appointment of its first-ever chief technology officer, naming Karandeep Anand, former CEO of chatbot startup Character.AI, to the newly created role.
Anand will report directly to Disney's recently appointed CEO, Josh D'Amaro, and will oversee the company's infrastructure, product, engineering, and data and AI platform teams.
Background at Character.AI
Anand led Character.AI as CEO for just over a year, during which the company expanded into producing short-form microdrama content.
A surprising hire
The appointment comes as something of a surprise, since roughly a year ago Disney had sent Character.AI cease-and-desist letters after accusing the startup's tools of infringing on its copyrighted intellectual property.
The hire may signal a shift in how Disney intends to approach artificial intelligence going forward, particularly after its partnership with OpenAI reportedly fell apart. By bringing in an executive with direct experience running a major AI chatbot company, Disney appears to be charting a new course for its AI strategy.
