Disney Offers $20 Million for Character.AI License After 2025 Child-Safety and IP Clash
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Oct 13
Disney Offers $20 Million for Character.AI License After 2025 Child-Safety and IP Clash
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Oct 13
Summary
$20 million is Disney’s bid for a non-exclusive perpetual license to certain Character Technologies intellectual property in the chatbot maker’s bankruptcy sale, according to the company’s filing announcement.
The offer is striking because Disney attacked Character.AI in September 2025, accusing it of infringing Disney characters and exposing children to sexually exploitative or otherwise dangerous chatbot interactions.
Character.AI later removed Disney-owned characters from its platform, but Disney has since hired former Character.AI chief Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer.
Character.AI could still be outbid, and the sale process may extend beyond a license to a broader platform transition managed initially by Character.AI employees.
The bid underscores Disney’s renewed push into AI after an OpenAI-linked Sora partnership collapsed, as it looks for technology with proven appeal to its fan base.