Disney hires its first CTO—the former CEO of Character.AI

Disney just hired its first-ever chief technology officer, and he comes straight from an AI startup Disney recently threatened to sue.

According to The Verge, former Character.AI chief executive Karandeep Anand is joining Disney as its technical head. Reporting directly to CEO Josh D’Amaro, Anand will lead Disney’s infrastructure, product, engineering, and data/AI platforms. He comes from running Character.AI for just over a year, where he guided the chatbot startup's push into microdramas.

Why it matters: Disney is setting a new direction for its tech strategy after its partnership with OpenAI fell apart. The move is also a sharp turn in relations: only a year ago, Disney hit Character.AI with cease-and-desist letters over copyright infringement. Now, the person who ran that startup is in charge of Disney's AI future.

Know this: Disney is a global media giant, but it has never had a company-wide chief technology officer until now.

If you can't beat the AI startups, hire the person who ran one.