Disney has agreed to hire the majority of Character.AI's workforce after the chatbot startup filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, according to a legal filing spotted by Bloomberg and reported by TechCrunch. Disney will make employment offers to at least 60 Character.AI employees, at an estimated $60 million in annual compensation.
The filing says the vast majority of employees offered Disney jobs accepted them. Character.AI's former CEO Karandeep Anand recently became Disney's first chief technology officer, and Disney had previously agreed to acquire some of the startup's assets for $20 million.
The arrangement is structured as a stalking-horse bid, which means another company could still come forward with a higher offer for the business or its people.
The filing says that despite a large and engaged user base, Character.AI was hobbled by high costs and by potential litigation-related liabilities and regulatory engagement. The company was sued by the mother of a 14-year-old boy over a chatbot obsession before his suicide, and it faces government investigations over child safety.
