Bay Area AI startup linked to teen suicide files for bankruptcy

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  "company": {
    "name": "Character.ai",
    "domain": "character.ai"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/characterai-startup-disney-22477410.php",
    "title": "Bay Area AI startup linked to teen suicide files for bankruptcy - SFGATE",
    "excerpt": "Character.AI co-founders Noam Shazeer, left, and Daniel de Freitas Adiwardana. Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of suicidal ideation. If you are in distress, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for more resources. A controversial Bay Area artificial intelligence startup that’s been linked to teen suicides filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, and a former adversary is already swooping in to collect the scraps. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Character.AI , a chatbot platform with a vast array of characters for conversation, was launched in 2022 by two former Google engineers. But after four years and several lawsuits alleging the platform was dangerous for children, Character.AI is asking the court to help find a buyer. In the meantime, the company announced that it signed a $20 million deal with Disney to assist in the transition, and in return, the media giant gets to license some of Character.AI’s tech. It’s a sharp about-face from last year when Disney threatened to sue Character.AI for allegedly using copyrighted characters without permission. Now, it appears that Disney is smelling opportunity in Character.AI’s downfall, as it announced last month that it hired the chatbot platform’s CEO to a newly created C-suite position at the entertainment company. “Over the past year, Character.ai has...",
    "summary": "Character.AI signed a $20 million deal with Disney to assist in its transition, granting Disney a license to some of its technology.",
    "location": "Menlo Park, California, United States",
    "planning": false,
    "image_url": "https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/67/50/25/31360356/3/rawImage.jpg",
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    "published_at": "2026-10-14T21:28:16Z",
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    "related_company_name": "Disney",
    "related_company_domain": "thewaltdisneycompany.com"
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