By Jessica Toonkel and Kate Clark
Bob Iger is returning to venture capital as he charts his next act after running Disney.
The former chief executive officer of Disney, who stepped down from his role last month after a nearly two-decade run, has taken an advisory role at Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded by Joshua Kushner, according to people familiar with the matter. He will work with the firm's staff on investments and with founders of companies in Thrive's portfolio, one of the people said. Thrive, which recently raised $10 billion for a new set of funds, has backed the likes of Instagram, Spotify, A24 and OpenAI.
Kushner is a former Goldman Sachs banker and son of real-estate developer Charles Kushner. He is also the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump.
Iger's next move has been the subject of much speculation in Hollywood. The longtime media executive, whose previous attempt at retirement ended abruptly when he returned to the top Disney job, has invested personally in startups and at one point toyed with the idea of running for public office. He is expected to remain on Disney's board of directors through December.
For Iger, who owns a stake in Thrive, the move is something of a homecoming.
He first stepped down as CEO of Disney in 2020 after a 15-year stint to make way for handpicked successor Bob Chapek. Iger briefly joined Thrive as a venture partner in 2022, but relinquished the role when he returned to lead Disney later that year after Chapek's firing by the board of directors.
During his time at Thrive, Iger met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Last year, Iger helped orchestrate a $1 billion deal with OpenAI, by which Disney agreed to license more than 200 of its characters so users could create AI-generated content with OpenAI's text-to-video offering Sora. That deal fell apart after OpenAI decided to scrap Sora.
News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.
Between his two stints running Disney, Iger was also involved in a number of entertainment and technology startups. He and his wife Willow Bay, dean of University of Southern California's communication and journalism school, bought a controlling stake in women's soccer team Angel City FC in 2024.
He has invested in Genies, a crypto company that allows people to create digital avatars using blockchain technology. Iger has also invested his own cash in other consumer startups, including Canva, an Australian-based design company valued at $40 billion, and Gopuff, an instant-delivery service.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com and Kate Clark at kate.clark@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 23, 2026 15:51 ET (19:51 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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