Technology and Science · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Disney Names Karandeep Anand First Chief Technology Officer, With Josh D’Amaro Oversight
Karandeep Anand named Disney's first chief technology officer, effective October 2, 2026. Former Character.AI CEO joins Disney after leadership at AI startup.
11 outlets, one story, no spin found.
9 of 11 outlets skipped it: disney licensed OpenAI for Sora Disney character video creation, later ended.
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Disney creates corporate CTO
Disney named Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer in a corporate-wide role, with Anand joining on Oct 2 as senior executive vice-president and CTO reporting directly to chief executive Josh D’Amaro.
“Disney on Sept 18 named the CEO of artificial intelligence startup Character.AI as its first chief technology officer”
Disney said Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data management and AI platforms, product and engineering, and the company described the appointment as a first in its history for corporate-wide technology authority.
The hire comes about a year after Disney sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter over unauthorised use of Disney characters, and Character.AI removed the Disney characters after the September 2025 letter.
The Straits Times reported the appointment as Disney’s first tech chief, while TechCrunch framed it as a twist because Anand previously led an AI startup Disney accused of infringing its characters.
From Character.AI to Disney
Engadget said Disney hired former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer, and quoted Josh D’Amaro praising Anand as bringing “a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI.”
Engadget also noted Disney had threatened companies like Midjourney and Character.AI for using its intellectual property, and it pointed to Disney’s September 2025 cease and desist letter accusing Character.AI of being “harmful and dangerous to children.”
In a separate account, The American Bazaar said Anand will report to Josh D’Amaro and that Disney’s appointment came about a year after Disney accused Character.AI of “blatantly infringing” its copyrights and demanded it remove Disney characters.
Unite.AI added that Disney said the CTO role is newly created and effective October 2, with Anand overseeing enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering across Disney’s segment technology teams.
AI strategy and fallout
The Straits Times reported that Disney pursued both litigation and licensing with AI firms, including a US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) investment and three-year licensing deal with OpenAI announced in December 2025 for users of OpenAI’s Sora video app to create short AI videos featuring Disney characters.
“A US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) investment and three-year licensing deal with OpenAI”
The same report said that deal ended in March after OpenAI shut down Sora in a cost-cutting move, and it also said Character.AI faced lawsuits over chatbot safety, including settlements in January involving families accusing AI chatbots of harming minors.
The Wrap described Disney’s broader technology push under D’Amaro, saying the move comes as D’Amaro focuses on transforming Disney+ into the “digital centerpiece” for the company’s portfolio, and it cited Disney+ and Hulu as on track to become a unified standalone app by year-end.
In addition, The Wrap said Disney made its J.A.R.V.I.S. AI tool available to its more than 2,000 Imagineers and that it was using AI-powered digital twins and simulation tools to design and stress-test new attractions, including for its upcoming Abu Dhabi theme park.