Disney agreed to make job offers to most employees of bankrupt chatbot startup Character.AI, TechCrunch’s Anthony Ha reported Oct. 18. Ha says a legal filing described offers to at least 60 people, a majority of the workforce. An Oct. 16 Business Insider report by James Faris put the number at 66.
Offers are not completed hires. According to Faris’s account of the filing, 56 of the 66 workers offered jobs had resigned from Character.AI as of his report; the other 10 were waiting for U.S. work visa updates. Business Insider says Disney planned $60 million in annual pay for the 66 workers and an additional $30 million retention pool.
Disney had hired Character.AI’s former CEO, Karandeep Anand, as its first company-wide technology chief in mid-September, Business Insider reports. The job offers followed Disney layoffs that included tech employees. TechCrunch says Character.AI’s bankruptcy filing cited high costs and “potential litigation-related liabilities and regulatory engagement.”
Disney also proposed paying $20 million for key Character.AI assets, including some intellectual property and technology, Business Insider reports. The asset purchase was not complete: competing bids could be submitted by Nov. 20, and a bankruptcy judge would oversee the process. Disney’s offer as a stalking-horse bid that another company could beat.
