Walt Disney Co. has agreed to hire most of the workforce at bankrupt chatbot maker Character.AI. The agreement requires approval from a bankruptcy judge and covers at least 60 employees. Their combined compensation is estimated at about $60 million a year.
The hiring follows Disney’s separate $20 million offer for Character.AI’s assets. A rival bidder could still emerge. Disney is seeking to build its capabilities in conversational and personalized entertainment products using artificial intelligence.
Disney expects the new hires, along with the appointment of Karandeep Anand as its new chief technology officer, to strengthen its technology capabilities across divisions including streaming and theme parks.