Today on the Walt Disney Studios lot, the Disney Accelerator hosted its 2026 Demo Day, showcasing new collaborations with five companies: Promise, OpenArt, FieldAI, Physical Intelligence, and Simile. The Disney Accelerator is part of Disney’s long tradition of innovation in service of storytelling, helping leaders explore how technology can support more connected and personalized experiences for fans. Over the course of four months, the program participants worked alongside teams at Disney to explore how their technologies can help expand creative possibilities, streamline production workflows, enhance operational capabilities, and deepen guest insights.
“This year’s cohort brought advanced domain expertise, but even more importantly, grounded every conversation with a clear point of view on how these technologies can work responsibly for people,” said Bonnie Rosen, General Manager, the Disney Accelerator, “It’s been a privilege to help these collaborations take shape, opening real paths for these technologies to address meaningful operational priorities across our businesses, enable seamless guest experiences, and serve creativity.”
- Promise, an AI-native entertainment studio and technology company, took Demo Day attendees through a live demonstration of hybrid filmmaking, blending live-action production with generative creative workflows. Guests experienced a grey box production environment featuring a live actor performance, followed by a demonstration of how an artist can bring this performance into different story environments. Through its collaboration with Walt Disney Studios, Promise is exploring how AI-enabled techniques can expand the filmmaking toolkit, thoughtfully integrating AI into the production process while protecting creative integrity and craft at every step.
- OpenArt, an AI-powered creative platform, announced a collaboration with Disney Music Group, leveraging its custom suite of tools to help creative teams rapidly explore and evaluate visual concepts for lyric videos inspired by a song’s themes, mood, and emotional tone. The collaboration demonstrates how creative teams can iterate more freely, generating and evaluating multiple concepts in hours rather than weeks, enabling new fan experiences around Disney music between major releases.
- FieldAI showcased how its general purpose robot intelligence can enable safe operation in always-changing real-world environments. Through its collaboration with Disney Experiences Technology and Walt Disney Imagineering R&D, FieldAI is exploring how robots can support parking operations across complex terrain and unpredictable weather to improve the work environment and provide a more consistent experience for guests. Walt Disney Imagineering R&D is also collaborating with FieldAI to explore how advanced situational awareness and navigation capabilities may inform the future development of character-based robotic experiences in Disney parks.
- Physical Intelligence (𝞹) highlighted advancements in general-purpose robotics and embodied AI. Working alongside Walt Disney Imagineering, the company is exploring how adaptable robotic systems could assist with repetitive backstage tasks that support a seamless guest experience. As part of their collaboration, the teams are exploring how Pi’s models can power the practical task of handling and arranging 3D glasses for cleaning between shows. The collaboration pairs Pi’s advances in robot learning with Imagineering’s operational expertise to explore practical assistance for Disney Cast Members, and allow them to focus on guest interactions with the highest impact.
- Simile, a leader in consumer intelligence and decision-support technology, shared how it is collaborating with Disney Experiences to help uncover insights that can simplify the planning journey for guests. From product names and descriptions to the broader digital experience there are countless opportunities to refine small details that shape how guests plan and prepare for their visit. Through its work with Walt Disney World, Simile is exploring how advanced analytics and decision-support tools can augment current methodologies for gathering and interpreting guest insights, helping teams iterate on their ideas and refine concepts earlier in the development process.
Welcoming Back 2025 Disney Accelerator Cohort Members
Members of the 2025 Disney Accelerator program cohort returned to the lot to show their momentum with Disney after a year of continued collaboration. Industrial 3D-printing company Haddy showcased a collection of 3D-printed set pieces and prototypes fabricated in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering. The exhibit featured a variety of printed objects including a replica of a prop canoe currently installed in the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland Resort, a King Louie throne currently featured at Shanghai Disney Resort, as well as rock facades, and themed light fixtures.
Next-generation, digital-first media company Animaj joined Demo Day with a live demo of FlipMove, its artist-led, AI-powered animation workflow. Starting with an artist’s sketched animatic, FlipMove builds staged 3D shots and accelerates layout, director retakes and in-betweening, so creative teams can review and iterate faster while retaining full creative control. FlipMove is now used in production on Ozzy Fox, a series the company has co-developed with Disney Jr. over the past nine months. After a successful launch on YouTube, Animaj and Disney Jr. are already in production on Season 2 of the show.
A Catalyst for Innovative Collaborations
The Disney Accelerator serves as a catalyst for innovative collaborations between groundbreaking companies and Disney teams. Now in its 12th year, the program continues to connect Disney’s world-class creatives, technologists, and business leaders with pioneering startups working across entertainment, artificial intelligence, robotics, experiences, and emerging technologies.
Since its inception, Disney Accelerator has welcomed more than 60 companies from around the world, creating opportunities to explore new technologies, develop strategic collaborations, and advance Disney’s long-standing culture of innovation.
For more information, visit DisneyAccelerator.com.
