Disney was one of the first companies to offer support for the Apple Vision Pro, Photo Credit: Reuters
Walt Disney is creating 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 technology enablement office will be led by Jamie Voris, the film studio’s chief technology officer who led the development of Disney’s app for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality device, according to an email seen by Reuters on Friday. Eddie Drake will replace Voris as the studio’s CTO.
“The speed and scope of advances in AI and XR (extended reality) are enormous and will continue to impact the consumer experience, creative efforts and our businesses in the years to come — making it critical that Disney explores exciting opportunities and addresses potential risks,” wrote Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman.
“The creation of this group underscores our dedication to doing so.” Bergman said the unit will focus on fast-moving areas of technology, such as AI and mixed reality, which blend the physical and digital worlds. It will not centralize work on these projects, but rather ensure that various projects around the company fit with its broader strategy. Voris will report to Bergman. The technology enablement office, which starts with a core leadership team, is expected to grow to about 100 employees, a person familiar with the matter said.
Reuters first reported that Disney had formed a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it could be applied across the entertainment conglomerate. Various departments 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 the two.
Disney is building expertise across the organization to take advantage of 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.
While Meta and Snap unveiled a new generation of lightweight glasses that offer consumers a fashionable alternative to bulky VR goggles, Disney is quietly assembling a team focused on how to best use 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, according to data from market research firm IDC. Meta is still the clear market leader with a 60.5% market share, but is starting to face pressure in the sector from competitors such as Sony, Apple and ByteDance.
Google is also hinting this year that it may return to the AR/VR market.
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