Adobe and The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year strategic alliance on Monday at Adobe MAX that names Adobe an Official AI Innovation Partner of Disney and has the two companies building custom generative AI models on Adobe Firefly Foundry, trained on Disney's own properties.
Under the deal, Disney gets early access to Adobe's latest AI, creative and media technology, including Adobe Firefly, Firefly Foundry, Premiere and Photoshop, along with dedicated Adobe engineering and research resources for its production pipeline. The companies did not disclose financial terms or the exact length of the agreement.
“Disney has always embraced innovation, and this alliance with Adobe builds on a longstanding relationship”— Becca Vodnoy, Senior Vice President, Corporate Alliances, The Walt Disney Company
The custom Firefly Foundry models are trained on Disney character attributes, environments and visual styles, and are designed to produce what Adobe calls commercially safe, production-ready outputs. Adobe and Disney describe the approach as human-centered and artist-led.
Key facts
- 01Adobe and The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year strategic alliance on November 9, 2026 at Adobe MAX.
- 02Adobe becomes an Official AI Innovation Partner of Disney and a StudioLAB Innovation Partner of The Walt Disney Studios.
- 03Disney is building custom Firefly Foundry models trained on character attributes, environments and visual styles.
- 04Walt Disney Imagineering R&D already uses a sketch-to-image model and a custom image model for theme park development.
- 05No financial terms were disclosed.
Some of that work is already in production. Walt Disney Imagineering R&D is using Firefly Foundry for theme park development, including a sketch-to-image model that turns hand-drawn concepts into fully rendered 2D concept art and a custom image model for on-brand, franchise-accurate creative assets. Adobe first detailed its work with Imagineering in June 2026.
The alliance extends across Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line, where Adobe tools will support marketing, activations, storytelling and concept exploration in the parks and cruise development pipelines.
Adobe is also joining StudioLAB as a StudioLAB Innovation Partner of The Walt Disney Studios, working on internal creative workflows. At the ESPN Edge Innovation Center, ESPN and Adobe will explore AI for fan engagement, content delivery and bringing the ESPN archive to life.
Adobe said co-innovation projects with StudioLAB and ESPN Edge are already underway, with more activations rolling out over the term of the deal. Adobe will also increase its presence across Disney's media platforms, and the partnership is expected to show up at Adobe Summit, Adobe MAX and other industry events.
Hannah Elsakr, Adobe's vice president of GenAI New Business Ventures, called the announcement the next chapter of a decades-long relationship, with AI deployed as an accelerant for artistic vision, creativity and guest engagement.
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