In February 2020, Kevin Mayer, Disney's head of streaming at the time, was in line to become CEO. However, Mayer and his colleagues were caught off guard when Bob Chapek was announced as Iger's immediate replacement, as captured in this photo taken on September 29, 2022. Former CEO of TikTok and co-CEO of Candle Media, Kevin Mayer, believes that the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) has reached a climax, leading to astronomical company valuations. During an interview with CNBC's Karen Tso at the VivaTech conference in Paris on Friday, Mayer acknowledged the underlying value of AI, as demonstrated by previous innovations such as the metaverse and Blockchain.

However, he cautioned that valuations are bound to stabilize in the near future. "AI possesses extraordinary capabilities that are yet to be fully explored and highly valuable. However, the hype surrounding it has been overly dramatic, " stated Mayer. "I anticipate that we will witness a peak in the hype surrounding AI, its inflated valuations, and the constant talk of its potential to revolutionize every aspect of our economic universe and personal lives. "