San Jose’s Adobe becomes Disney’s official AI partner and will build custom AI art tools trained on Disney characters

Adobe and The Walt Disney Company announced a multi-year alliance on Nov. 9 that makes the San Jose software maker Disney’s “Official AI Innovation Partner,” according to a joint news release.  The deal was announced at Adobe MAX, Adobe’s yearly creativity conference, in Miami Beach, Fla.  The companies did not disclose financial terms.

What Disney gets

Disney will get early access to Adobe’s newest AI and creative software, including Photoshop, the Premiere video editor and Firefly, Adobe’s generative AI, which creates images, video and audio from typed requests or sketches.  Adobe will also assign engineers and researchers to Disney’s production work.

The center of the deal is Firefly Foundry, an Adobe service that builds a private AI model for one company, trained on that company’s own artwork.  A Foundry model learns one company’s characters, settings and visual style, and the company keeps ownership of the training material and the results, Adobe says.  Adobe says it trains Firefly only on material it has the right to use, so the output is safe to use commercially, and that Foundry models work inside the Adobe apps creative teams already use.

Walt Disney Imagineering, the group that designs Disney’s theme parks, is already using Foundry, the release says.  One custom model turns hand-drawn sketches into finished concept art.  Another makes images that match Disney franchises’ look.

Parks, studios and ESPN

Adobe will also work with StudioLAB, the Walt Disney Studios’ in-house lab for testing new filmmaking tools, and the ESPN Edge Innovation Center on ways AI could bring ESPN’s video archive to life.  Adobe will also have a bigger presence across Disney’s media platforms, and the companies plan joint marketing and industry events.  Projects at StudioLAB and ESPN are already underway.

Hannah Elsakr, an Adobe vice president for generative AI businesses, said the companies will use AI “as an accelerant for artistic vision, creativity and guest engagement.”  Adobe has been in business since 1982 and makes Photoshop and Acrobat, its PDF software.

Source:  Adobe and Disney news release, Nov. 9, 2026 and Adobe blog on Firefly Foundry.