Disney said it hired former Character.AI chief executive Karandeep Anand as senior executive vice president and CTO, effective October 2, making him the company’s first CTO.

Character.AI is a US-based startup whose platform lets users create and interact with character-based chatbots.

Anand will report to CEO Josh D’Amaro and oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering.

The appointment extends Disney’s technology push across the company, including streaming.

D’Amaro has emphasized technology and AI as part of Disney’s broader growth strategy.

Disney also said it was hiring members of Character.AI’s technical team.

The move is notable because Character.AI later removed characters from its platform after Disney objected to the unauthorized use of its intellectual property.

The hires follow broader changes at Character.AI, though Disney’s announcement did not link them to the startup’s strategy or its reported Google deal.

🔗 Source: CNBC

Recent Disney developments