Disney and Adobe Will Build Private AI Models Trained on Disney Characters for Parks, Studios and ESPN

The Walt Disney Company and Adobe announced a multiyear alliance on Monday, Nov. 9, to co-develop custom generative AI models trained on Disney’s own characters, environments and visual styles, with the first uses aimed at theme park design, Disney’s film studio and ESPN. The deal was unveiled at Adobe’s MAX conference in Miami Beach.

The Disney Adobe AI models will be built with Adobe Firefly Foundry, a service that lets companies create their own AI models, and will be private and proprietary to Disney, Reuters reported. Adobe says the models are “human-centered and artist-led” and designed to produce “commercially safe and production-ready outputs.” Financial terms were not disclosed.

What the deal covers

Under the alliance, Adobe becomes an “Official AI Innovation Partner” of Disney and will give the company early access to its latest tools, including Firefly, Firefly Foundry, Premiere and Photoshop, along with dedicated engineering and research staff, according to Adobe’s announcement. The work will start in Disney’s Experiences division, which runs its theme parks, resorts and cruise line, and at StudioLAB, the innovation hub inside Walt Disney Studios, where Adobe joins as an innovation partner.

At ESPN, the companies will work through the ESPN Edge Innovation Center to find ways for AI to increase engagement with sports fans and bring more of ESPN’s archive to audiences. Adobe will also increase its marketing presence across Disney’s media platforms and at events such as Adobe Summit and Adobe MAX, and the alliance includes marketing tie-ins with Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line.

“Today’s announcement marks the next chapter of the relationship, where the two companies will build a new creative foundation that thoughtfully deploys AI as an accelerant for artistic vision, creativity and guest engagement,” said Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s vice president of GenAI New Business Ventures. Becca Vodnoy, Disney’s senior vice president of corporate alliances, said the deal gives “our creative teams new ways to explore and develop their ideas.”

Imagineering is already using it

Walt Disney Imagineering’s research and development group has already deployed two custom models, according to Adobe and Reuters: a sketch-to-image model that turns hand-drawn concepts into fully rendered 2D concept art, and an image model that produces on-brand, franchise-accurate assets.

“We talk about the time frames in our projects in years — it’s years’ worth of development. And what Adobe Foundry has allowed us to do is compress the creative process that would have taken months to now being able to do that in hours and days,” Kyle Laughlin, Disney’s senior vice president of R&D technology and engineering, told Reuters. He said faster iteration helps “reduce costly changes in the field” once construction starts, and that the tools are “in no way meant to replace” roles at Imagineering.

Why the timing matters

The announcement comes days after Bloomberg News reported that Disney is weighing cutting thousands of jobs and has asked some managers to target 20% in annual cost savings, a report both Reuters and The Verge cited. The Verge said it would be Disney’s fourth round of job cuts in 2026. Disney has not publicly confirmed the scale of any cuts.

It is also the latest step in Disney’s embrace of generative AI, following an earlier deal with OpenAI, The Verge noted. Training models only on a company’s own intellectual property is a selling point as rights holders in film and music fight AI firms in court, including the rights holders who sued the AI music startup Suno this month.

What to watch

Adobe and Disney say co-innovation projects at StudioLAB and ESPN Edge are already underway, with more to roll out over the multiyear term. Open questions include how the custom models will be used in finished films and park attractions, how Disney’s artists will be credited, and whether the tools affect staffing. For investors, the deal is another test of whether enterprise AI spending holds up, a theme behind the latest Ramp data on corporate AI spending. More in our business news coverage.

Sources

• Adobe: Adobe and The Walt Disney Company announce multi-year strategic alliance
• Reuters via Investing.com: Disney, Adobe to co-develop custom AI models tailored for media giant
• The Verge: Disney and Adobe are building generative AI tools together