Disney, Adobe strike multi-year deal for custom AI models

Disney The Walt Disney Company ↗ 0.37% and Adobe ↗ 0.38% have signed a multi-year agreement to co-develop custom generative AI models for the entertainment company. The goal is to roll out AI tools across Disney's theme parks, its film studio and ESPN, Reuters reported on Monday, November 9. The models will be built on Adobe's Firefly Foundry, a platform that lets businesses build and deploy their own AI models. They will be trained on Disney's intellectual property, designed to produce production-ready output, and kept private and owned by Disney, according to Reuters.charlotteobserver.com+1

Parks first, then studio and ESPN

The work will start in Disney Experiences, the division that runs the company's theme parks, resorts and cruise lines, with the aim of shortening project development timelines. It will also be used for early concept work at StudioLAB, the innovation hub inside Walt Disney Studios, Reuters reported. At ESPN, Adobe will help Disney use AI to increase fan engagement and bring more of the network's archive to viewers, Channel NewsAsia reported, as relayed by UA.News.ua.news+1

Walt Disney Imagineering, the design and research arm behind the parks, is already using a custom image-generation model and a sketch-to-image model that turns hand-drawn sketches into finished concept art. "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 the company avoid costly changes once construction starts, and that the tools are "in no way meant to replace" roles at Imagineering.money.usnews.com

Built on an earlier pilot

The deal expands a partnership that started smaller. In June, Adobe announced a collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development. That project covered a custom image model trained on franchises including Frozen, Moana, Lilo & Stitch and Cars, plus a tool that turns 2D renderings into detailed 3D prototypes. Adobe pitched Foundry as a contrast to models trained on internet data, saying it was built on licensed and proprietary material. Adobe later named Disney among its enterprise wins for the quarter in its earnings materials.adobe.com+1

Cost pressure in the background

The agreement comes as Disney looks for savings. Earlier in November, Bloomberg News reported that Disney was considering cutting thousands of jobs and had asked some managers to aim for 20% in annual cost savings, Reuters noted. That has made the company's statements on job security more pointed. Laughlin described the tools as a way to speed up creative development rather than replace staff.money.usnews.com