Disney offers $20 million initial bid for Character. AI IP license
Character.AI, the company behind those AI chatbots that let you chat with your favorite celebrities and fictional characters, is in big financial trouble and has filed for bankruptcy.
Now, Disney is stepping in as the initial bidder with a $20 million offer for a non-exclusive, perpetual license to certain Character. AI intellectual property and other claims.
Character. AI expects sale by December
Character. AI is still up for grabs, and other potential buyers can still submit higher or better offers. It expects to complete the sale process by late November or early December.
For now, the site stays online, but it could go dark if no buyer shows up.
The company announced new age checks and a ban on open-ended chats for users under 18 in October 2025, after settling lawsuits about its impact on minors earlier this year.
Despite past clashes over character rights, Disney even brought on Character. AI's former CEO, Karandeep Anand, as a senior executive vice president and its first-ever chief technology officer, showing it is pretty serious about this AI game.