AI avatar firm Character AI is getting shut with Google. The startup as we speak introduced in a weblog submit that it’ll license its giant language mannequin (LLM) tech to Google in trade for “elevated funding for Character.AI to proceed rising and to deal with constructing personalised AI merchandise for customers all over the world.”
As well as, Character AI’s founding staff, Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, together with some members of its analysis staff, will be part of Google. The corporate mentioned most of its staff will stay at Character AI, whereas its normal counsel, Dominic Perella, will change into interim chief government officer.
“As we enter this subsequent section of development, we’ll proceed to spend money on our post-training capabilities, with the pliability to make use of our personal or externally obtainable LLMs. We’re excited for the way forward for Character.AI and are dedicated to serving our customers via progressive new merchandise,” the corporate mentioned within the weblog submit.
What’s Character AI?
Character AI, based in 2022, permits individuals to create AI avatars of themselves or different characters. The corporate reached a valuation of $1 billion in March 2023 after a $150 million funding spherical led by Andreessen Horowitz.
The corporate beforehand constructed its personal fashions, selecting a full stack method of pre-training, coaching and deployment to create AI avatars.
Nevertheless it mentioned in its weblog submit that “the panorama has shifted” previously few years the place extra off-the-shelf, pre-trained fashions are available. By leveraging Google’s LLMs, Character AI mentioned it may deal with post-training fashions and creating new merchandise for its customers.
Certainly, earlier this week, Meta was reported to be discontinuing its movie star AI chatbots that have been broadly seen as rivals to Character AI after apparently low consumer uptake and engagement.
Google informed VentureBeat that Shazeer, a former software program engineer at Google, will be part of the DeepMind staff.
“I’m tremendous excited to return to Google and work as a part of the Google DeepMind staff. I’m so happy with all the pieces we constructed at Character.AI during the last three years,” Shazeer mentioned in an e-mail to VentureBeat. “I’m assured that the funds from the non-exclusive Google licensing settlement, along with the unimaginable Character.AI staff, place Character.AI for continued success sooner or later.”
One other deal within the AI house
Google and Character AI didn’t present extra particulars concerning the deal, nor did both firm verify whether or not the settlement could possibly be thought of an acquisition.
Different massive tech firms have basically purchased firms via “acquihiring,” when the manager staff and enormous swathes of a startup are employed by a giant firm. Sources near the deal informed VentureBeat it was not an aquisition nor an acqui-hire
For instance, Microsoft employed the co-founders of AI startup Inflection which many consider is a method to keep away from regulatory issues round an acquisition.
This isn’t the primary time Character AI has been concerned in potential takeover talks. The Info reported that Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI thought of shopping for Character AI, although Musk later denied the report on his social community, X (previously Twitter).
