Adobe and Disney have agreed a multi-year strategic alliance focused on AI tools for Disney's creative and development teams, expanding a longstanding relationship between the two companies.
Under the agreement, Adobe will become Disney's official AI innovation partner, providing early access to a range of creative, video and image tools, alongside engineering and research support. The work will span Disney's innovation labs, theme park development, cruise projects, studio operations and sports media activities.
Disney plans to use custom AI models and other Adobe software to support concept development and internal production workflows. The arrangement is intended to help creative teams explore ideas more quickly while maintaining protections around creators and their work.
A central part of the alliance is Adobe Firefly Foundry, which allows proprietary generative AI models to be tailored to Disney's own intellectual property. These models are being built around specific character attributes, environments and visual styles tied to Disney franchises.
This will allow teams to generate material that stays consistent with established brands and story worlds. Adobe said the models are human-centred and artist-led, with outputs intended for commercial use in production settings.
Theme park work
One of the clearest existing uses is within Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development. The group is already using Adobe Firefly Foundry in the theme park development pipeline, including a sketch-to-image model that turns hand-drawn concepts into rendered 2D concept art, and a separate image model designed to generate franchise-accurate creative assets.
The alliance also extends to Disney's film and television innovation efforts through StudioLAB, the internal hub at The Walt Disney Studios that prototypes new tools and storytelling methods. Adobe will work with Disney creatives and technologists there to examine internal creative workflows.
Sports is another part of the agreement. At ESPN Edge, the broadcaster's innovation centre, Adobe and ESPN will explore how AI can shape sports storytelling, fan engagement and the use of archive material.
Adobe will also gain broader visibility across Disney's media platforms as part of the relationship. The alliance includes marketing activity and customer storytelling, although the main operational focus for both sides is creative development and experimentation with emerging technology.
Hannah Elsakr, vice president of GenAI new business ventures at Adobe, described the agreement as an extension of a much older working relationship between the two groups.
"Adobe and The Walt Disney Company have had a decades-long collaboration, where Adobe's creativity, productivity and customer experience orchestration tools have supported everything from Disney's content creation pipelines and workflows to personalized marketing campaigns and digital experiences that come to life in the parks," Elsakr said.
"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," she added.
Becca Vodnoy, senior vice president of corporate alliances at The Walt Disney Company, said the deal fits Disney's long-running focus on new production methods.
"Disney has always embraced innovation, and this alliance with Adobe builds on a longstanding relationship between two companies that share a deep commitment to creativity," Vodnoy said.
"By bringing together Disney's world-class storytellers and beloved brands with Adobe's technology, we have an exciting opportunity to give our creative teams new ways to explore and develop their ideas and bring Disney stories and experiences to life for guests and fans around the world," she added.
The partnership comes as media and entertainment groups test how generative AI can be used in controlled production environments without weakening brand management or rights protection. For Disney, the emphasis appears to be on internal tools trained on company-owned material rather than broad public-facing systems, while Adobe is positioning its software and model-building work as part of a practical production pipeline.
Co-innovation projects with StudioLAB and ESPN Edge are already under way, while Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development is already using Adobe Firefly Foundry in the theme park development pipeline.