philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Disney Hires Its First CTO: Karandeep Anand, Former CEO of AI Chatbot Start-Up

Disney chief Josh D’Amaro, in a move that shows he’s trying to position the Mouse House as a tech-forward entertainment company, has tapped veteran technology executive Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer.

Most recently, Anand was CEO of Character.AI, a generative AI chatbot company. About a year ago, Disney accused Character.AI of “blatantly infringing” its copyrights and sent the tech startup a cease-and-desist letter demanding it remove Disney characters from its platform. Character.AI complied with the request. ...

“Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be a vital addition to Disney’s senior leadership team as we further our three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney,” D’Amaro said in a statement. “He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what fans actually want.” ...

According to Disney, the hiring of Anand illustrates that D’Amaro is sharpening the company’s focus on technology as a growth driver. Since becoming CEO, D’Amaro has emphasized the need to strengthen Disney’s direct relationships with fans by creating a more connected Disney experience, with Disney+ as the digital centerpiece. Anand is well-suited to help achieve that goal, according to Disney, as he brings experience spanning consumer technology, infrastructure, product development and AI. ...

Anand holds a computer science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. He also has a marketing and strategy certification from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

See the full story here: https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/disney-cto-karandeep-anand-character-ai-1236866528/