Walt Disney forms business unit to coordinate use of AI, augmented reality

Walt Disney is forming a new group to coordinate the company's use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and mixed reality, as the media giant explores applications across its film, television and theme park divisions.

The newly formed Office of Technology Enablement will be led by Jamie Voris, the film studio's chief technology officer who spearheaded development of Disney's app for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality device, an email seen on Friday by Reuters showed. Eddie Drake will succeed Voris as the studio's CTO.

"The pace and scope of the advances in AI and XR (extended reality) are profound and will continue to impact consumer experiences, creative endeavors and our businesses for years to come - making it critical that Disney explore the exciting opportunities and navigate the potential risks," Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman wrote.

"The creation of this group underscores our dedication to doing that."

Bergman noted the unit will focus on fast-moving areas of technology, such as AI and mixed reality, which blends the physical and digital worlds. It will not centralize work on these projects, but rather, ensure the various projects around the company fit with its broader strategy.

Voris will report to Bergman. The Office of Technology Enablement, which launches with a core leadership team, is expected to grow to about 100 employees, a person familiar with the matter said.

Reuters first reported Disney had formed a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it could be applied across the entertainment conglomerate.

Various divisions within Disney are exploring applications for augmented reality, which places digital elements into the real world; virtual reality, which immerses the user in a simulated environment; and mixed reality, which combines both.

Disney has been building expertise across the organization to capitalize on the emerging technology.

For example, Kyle Laughlin, a Disney veteran with a background in augmented and virtual reality and AI, returned to the company in March as senior vice president of research and development for Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative force behind Disney's theme park attractions. He briefly left Disney in 2019 to lead Amazon's Alexa Gadgets division.

As Meta and Snap unveiled a new generation of lightweight glasses that provide consumers a fashionable alternative to bulky VR goggles, Disney has been quietly assembling a team focused on how best to harness the technology to bring new experiences to the company's theme parks and consumers' homes, seven sources told Reuters.

Tech companies have sold about 1.7 million AR/VR headsets so far this year, data from market research firm IDC showed. Meta is still the clear market leader, with a 60.5 per cent market share, but is starting to face pressure in the space from competitors like Sony, Apple and ByteDance.

Google also has been signaling this year that it may return to the AR/VR market.