Key facts
- Disney will pay $60 million annually to 66 former Character.AI employees.
- Disney is also allocating $30 million for retention incentives for these employees.
- The total compensation and retention spending for these staffers is expected to reach $180 million over three years.
- Disney is acquiring Character.AI's key assets, including IP and technology, for $20 million.
- Character.AI filed for bankruptcy due to lawsuits concerning alleged harm caused by its AI chatbots.
Disney is set to pay $60 million annually to 66 employees from the bankrupt AI startup Character.AI, a move that follows recent tech layoffs at the media giant. The company also plans to spend an additional $30 million on retention incentives for these staffers over the next three years, bringing the total expected expenditure to $180 million. Disney hired Character.AI's former CEO, Karandeep Anand, as its first-ever company-wide tech chief in mid-September. The company is also acquiring Character.AI's key assets, including intellectual property and technology, for $20 million, with a deadline for competing bids set for November 20. Character.AI filed for bankruptcy after facing lawsuits related to alleged harm caused by its AI chatbots, and it had previously settled child safety lawsuits. Disney had also sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI last fall regarding the use of its copyrighted characters.