Disney’s first CTO led an AI startup it once accused of copying its characters
The former CEO of Character.AI, which Disney previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to, will serve as the company’s first-ever chief technology officer.
The former CEO of Character.AI, which Disney previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to, will serve as the company’s first-ever chief technology officer.
In an interesting twist that takes advantage of the company’s core product, users can chat with these shows’ characters, ask them questions, and even roleplay different storylines.
According to Pennsylvania’s filing, a Character.AI chatbot presented itself as a licensed psychiatrist during a state investigation, and also fabricated a serial number for its state medical license.
The settlements are among the first tied to lawsuits accusing AI companies of harming users.
The company announced last month that it would no longer allow minors to use its chat features.
After facing lawsuits and public outcry following the suicides of two teenagers, Character.AI says it’s making changes to its platform to protect children, changes that could affect the startup’s bottom line.
“Character.ai is freeriding off the goodwill of Disney’s famous marks and brands, and blatantly infringing Disney’s copyrights,” a Disney lawyer wrote.
Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character AI, joins the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 to discuss human-like AI companions, ethical and technical challenges, and the legal scrutiny facing conversational AI.
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton is investigating Meta and Character.AI over claims they deceptively market chatbots as mental health tools, raising concerns about child safety, data privacy, and targeted advertising.
The social feed lets users share images, videos as well as their chatbots with other users. Users can also share snippets of their chats with characters, post AI-generated images based on their chats with a character, or even have their characters debate topics on a live stream.