Disney Worldwide Services has agreed to serve as stalking-horse bidder on a $20 million, nonexclusive and perpetual license to certain Character Technologies intellectual property and legal claims as the Character.AI operator begins Chapter 11.
The agreement establishes the opening bid in the court-supervised sale process. It remains subject to higher or better offers under section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Disney has not completed an acquisition of Character.AI or agreed to buy the app.
Disney would also provide transition services using former Character.AI employees it has hired. Character Technologies said those services would help keep the platform operating for a limited period and support the sale.
Character.AI said its platform remains available and subscriptions continue unchanged for now. The company expects the sale process to finish by the end of November or perhaps early December 2026. If the process does not produce a proposal that allows the platform to continue, the service could be wound down.
Read the full Character Technologies release and Character.AI’s update for users.