Disney Names Character.AI’s CEO as Its First CTO
Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand, formerly the CEO of Character.AI, as its first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the entire company. This move comes after Disney's significant concerns regarding the unauthorized use of its characters by Character.AI.
In September 2025, Disney sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter, citing chatbots impersonating Disney characters that were "in some cases, sexually exploitive and otherwise harmful and dangerous to children." The company subsequently barred under-18s from open-ended chats in November 2025 following a lawsuit over the death of a 14-year-old.
Anand will oversee Disney's technological future, including plans for Disney+ to integrate games and other experiences, as well as implementing AI search on the platform and ESPN. Notably, this appointment places a chatbot expert in charge of technology at a children’s brand, coinciding with Europe's proposed Kids Act, which seeks to regulate social media use and AI chatbots for minors.
The Kids Act would:
- Ban social media for under-13s
- Limit 13 and 14-year-olds to one hour of social media per day
- Switch off AI chatbots by default for minors
- Enforce restrictions against creating emotional dependency in AI interactions.
While Anand's appointment is not considered improper, his previous work at Character.AI underscores the need for careful consideration of user trust and safety in the context of AI technology.