Disney offers jobs to 66 Character.AI employees

Disney has offered jobs to 66 employees of Character.AI, the chatbot startup now navigating a court-supervised bankruptcy sale. This is not a conventional acquisition: Disney had already recruited Character.AI’s former chief executive as its technology chief, and is now seeking to bring much of the team over while making a separate $20 million opening bid for a nonexclusive license to selected technology and intellectual-property rights. Court filings put the annual compensation run rate for the offered employees at roughly $60 million, with additional payments intended to encourage them to stay. The consumer app, brand, and user data are not part of Disney’s proposed license, and other bidders can still offer more—so Disney is securing the people behind the technology before it knows whether it will win any of the assets.