Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand as its inaugural chief technology officer. Anand previously served as the CEO of the artificial intelligence startup Character.AI, which he joined as a board adviser before taking the top executive role in May 2025.
The appointment follows a period of legal tension between the two entities. In September 2025, Disney issued a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, alleging that the startup’s platform, which enables users to generate and interact with virtual personas, infringed on its intellectual property by hosting copyrighted characters.
Beyond the dispute with Disney, Character.AI has faced litigation regarding claims that its chatbot services encouraged users to engage in self-harm. The company has navigated various legal challenges since its establishment in 2021.
Anand’s selection was driven by Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, who assumed leadership in March following the departure of Bob Iger. Prior to his tenure at Character.AI, Anand held positions at Facebook from 2015 to 2021 and spent 15 years at Microsoft.
