# Disney Pays $180M for Character.AI Staff

> Disney's $180 million workforce package for Character.AI employees dwarfs the $20 million tech license bid in bankruptcy sale.
- Title: Disney Pays $180M for Character.AI Staff · RuntimeWire
- Summary: Disney's $180 million workforce package for Character.AI employees dwarfs the $20 million tech license bid in bankruptcy sale. Disney will spend $180 million…
- Keywords: disney, character.ai, employee package, bankruptcy sale, court filing, tech license, technology, Pays, 180M, Character, Staff, RuntimeWire
- Source: RuntimeWire — https://runtimewire.com/article/disney-hires-character-ai-workforce-bankruptcy-sale
- Author: RuntimeWire
- Published: 2026-10-18T16:51:26.827+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: disney, character.ai, employee package, bankruptcy sale, court filing, tech license, technology, ai
## Disney's $180M Pay Package
Disney expects to spend about $180 million over three years on compensation and retention for roughly 65 Character.AI employees it has hired.
## Character.AI Gets $20M License Bid
The bankrupt startup would receive $20 million for a separate license to selected technology and intellectual property.
## Court Filing Shows Split
The terms, described in a court filing, make the split unusually clear: Disney is paying far more for the people than for the company they are leaving.
## Key takeaway

Disney will spend $180 million over three years to retain 65 Character.AI employees during the startup's court-supervised bankruptcy sale.