Disney’s 2024 Accelerator Program Participants Include 3 AI-Focused Companies

The Walt Disney Company has announced the 2024 participant companies chosen in the 10th year of the Disney Accelerator program.

This program is designed to accelerate the growth of innovative companies from around the world, focusing on exploring how emerging technologies can be used to foster human creativity and imagination, the company said in a Wednesday (Feb. 21) press release.

The five companies joining the 2024 program are AudioShake, ElevenLabs, Nuro, PrometheanAI and StatusPro.

These companies bring a wide range of expertise in areas such as audio technology, voice artificial intelligence (AI) research, autonomous vehicles, virtual world creation and immersive entertainment, according to the release.

“Disney has always been a leader in innovation, understanding and embracing technological shifts to enhance experiences and bring timeless stories to life,” Bonnie Rosen, GM of the Disney Accelerator, said in the release. “The Disney Accelerator allows us to continue this legacy of innovation and the responsible use of technology in service of storytelling.”

Participants in the Disney Accelerator program receive guidance from Disney’s senior leadership team, culminating in a Demo Day at The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California, according to the release.

Since the inception of the program in 2014, more than 60 global companies have been connected with the creativity and expertise of Disney through the program, the release said. Among these past participants are Epic Games, Kahoot!, Illumix and Inworld.

Bloomberg said in a Wednesday report that three of the five companies chosen for this year’s class are working on AI. AudioShake uses AI to mix music tracks, ElevenLabs uses the technology to convert text to speech, and PrometheanAI uses it to search digital archives, according to the report.

Many of the previous Disney Accelerator program participants have found their products and services in high demand among the company’s brand, and even outside the Disney family, following their three-month mentorship, PYMNTS reported in July 2021.

Before being named to lead the accelerator program, Rosen was a participant. Rosen was part of the 2015 class as part of FEM, a personalized video engagement platform that was later acquired by Nielsen Gracenote.