Having millions of people using your app sounds like a nice problem to have. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the business is making money. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/13/character-ai-chapter-11-disney-bid.html Character.AI, which lets people chat and roleplay with AI characters, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid high running costs, legal claims, and regulatory pressure. Some of the lawsuits allege its chatbots encouraged self-harm among younger users, including cases involving deaths. Disney has agreed to make an opening bid of $20 million for a licence to some of its intellectual property. Other bidders can make higher offers during the sale process. The platform is staying online for now, but could close if a buyer willing to keep it running isn’t found. For me, there’s a business lesson here. We hear plenty about user numbers and how much time people spend using AI. But someone still has to pay for all those conversations. And when people form close relationships with chatbots, there are serious responsibilities around how those systems respond. Getting people interested is one thing. Building a business that can afford to serve them, and do it responsibly, is a much bigger job. So as with all things AI - We continue to be surprised, amazed, and cautious. ;)