Disney has hired its first chief technology officer, Karandeep Anand, who previously led an AI startup the company accused of infringing on its IP in 2025. Anand was chosen for the role by new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, who took over after former company chief Bob Iger stepped down in March.
Anand formerly served as a board adviser to Character.AI before becoming its CEO in May 2025, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked at Facebook between 2015 and 2,021 and, before that, spent 15 years at Microsoft.
"Character.AI allows users to create distinct virtual characters with generative AI and talk and interact with them," said Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI. The company has also been sued over allegations that its chatbots encouraged users to commit self-harm and suicide.
The hiring suggests D’Amaro wants the company to embrace new technologies. Disney previously claimed that Character.AI was hosting copyrighted characters from its franchises.
Disney did not say how it plans to balance its IP concerns with its new focus on AI innovation, and it remains unclear how the company will address the legal issues that have plagued Character.AI. The company has not commented on the matter.
Source: techcrunch
