Disney has announced the appointment of Karandeep Anand, the former chief executive of Character.AI, as the company’s first chief technology officer. The hiring marks a significant shift for the entertainment giant, which had only months earlier taken legal action against Anand’s former company, accusing it of copyright infringement and creating harmful chatbots based on its intellectual property.
In a statement, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro highlighted Anand’s extensive background across infrastructure, consumer technology, and artificial intelligence. “Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience… and will be a vital addition to Disney’s senior leadership team,” D’Amaro said. He added that Anand shares Disney’s belief that technology creates the most value when it empowers people to do their best work while supporting the company’s three core priorities: storytelling, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney.
Anand will oversee enterprise technology, as well as Disney’s data and AI platforms. Reports indicate that several members of Character.AI’s technical team will join Disney alongside him. The move is part of D’Amaro’s broader strategy, which has intensified since he became CEO in February, to position Disney as a technology-driven company with streaming services like Disney+ at the center of its future.
In addition to Anand’s appointment, Disney is promoting Adam Smith, formerly the chief product and technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, to the new role of Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer for Disney Entertainment.
The partnership stands in stark contrast to Disney’s public stance in September 2025, when the company sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI. Disney alleged that the platform offered unauthorized chatbots based on its characters, arguing they were dangerous for children. At the time, Character.AI was already facing wrongful death lawsuits involving underage users, lending weight to Disney’s claims regarding the safety of its products.
However, analysts suggest Disney’s concerns may have been driven more by licensing disputes than a rejection of generative AI itself. Just a few months later, in December 2025, Disney agreed to license its characters to OpenAI for its Sora application. With Disney now fully embracing AI as a component of its future, Anand’s expertise appears to outweigh previous grievances.
Wow, from enemy to CTO in record time. The entertainment industry is changing faster than I expected. Adapt or die, I guess.
Storytelling meets algorithms. I’m hoping this means better interactive experiences on Disney+, but not creepy chatbots for kids.
Disney licensed to OpenAI last year and now hires Anand. Clearly, they weren’t against AI; they just wanted to control the narrative.
I’m just curious if the Character.AI team members joining him will actually fit into Disney’s corporate culture. Big shake-up ahead.
Smart business move though. If you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em. Disney clearly wants to dominate the generative AI space now.
The hypocrisy is staggering. They sued for copyright infringement, then immediately hired the CEO to build their own AI empire. Make it make sense.
Wait, didn’t Disney just sue this guy’s company months ago? This pivot is wild. What exactly happened behind closed doors?