Disney Accelerator, 3 of 5 are unicorns and the cheque is secret
Five startups got into the 2026 Disney Accelerator. Three of them are valued at $2 billion or more. Disney still has not said what it paid.
The program held its Demo Day on 3 November on the Walt Disney Studios lot, after four months of work with Disney teams. The class: FieldAI, Physical Intelligence, Promise, OpenArt AI and Simile.
TheWrap puts Simile at a $2 billion valuation, FieldAI at $10 billion and Physical Intelligence at $20 billion. Those are the companies' valuations, not Disney's terms. Disney says it prefers growth-stage companies that are further along, and applications are not the route in: its FAQ says companies are identified through outreach.
What each one is doing with Disney:
- Physical Intelligence: robots for repetitive backstage work with Walt Disney Imagineering, starting with handling and arranging 3D glasses for cleaning between shows.
- FieldAI: robots for parking operations on rough terrain in bad weather, plus navigation work for future character robots in the parks.
- Promise: hybrid filmmaking with Walt Disney Studios, putting a live actor's performance into different story settings.
- OpenArt AI: a collaboration with Disney Music Group on tools for testing visual concepts for lyric videos.
- Simile: decision-support tools with Disney Experiences, starting with how guests plan their trips.
The track record, by Disney's own count: more than 60 companies since 2014, including Epic Games and ElevenLabs.
On the money, Disney's FAQ says it "typically" makes an investment and gives no figure or equity share. It also says IP developed by a participating company stays with that company unless agreed otherwise in writing. What it does put on the table is visible: five pilots across Disney's parks, studios and music business.