Disney's First CTO Led AI Startup It Sued for IP Theft — SkimNews
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- Disney named Karandeep Anand as its first-ever chief technology officer, selected by new CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over after Bob Iger stepped down in March.
- Disney had sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter in September 2025 accusing the startup of hosting copyrighted characters from its franchises.
- Character.AI lets users build and interact with virtual characters powered by generative AI, and has also been sued over allegations its chatbots encouraged users to commit self-harm and suicide.
- Anand became Character.AI's CEO in May 2025 after serving as a board adviser, following 15 years at Microsoft and six years at Facebook (2015-2021).
- D'Amaro's choice of Anand suggests a stated push to embrace new technologies, despite Disney's active legal posture against generative AI companies that appropriate its characters.
Why it matters: Disney hired the former CEO of a startup it accused of IP infringement just months earlier, reflecting new CEO Josh D'Amaro's stated desire to embrace new technologies — even as Disney maintains active legal claims against generative AI companies that appropriate its characters. The move hands a top technology role to someone whose prior company sat directly in Disney's crosshairs.
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