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AI avatar firm Character AI is getting shut with Google. The startup as we speak introduced in a weblog put up that it’ll license its giant language mannequin (LLM) tech to Google in alternate for “elevated funding for Character.AI to proceed rising and to concentrate on constructing customized AI merchandise for customers world wide.”
As well as, Character AI’s founding workforce, Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, together with some members of its analysis workforce, 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 part of progress, we’ll proceed to put money into our post-training capabilities, with the flexibleness to make use of our personal or externally accessible LLMs. We’re excited for the way forward for Character.AI and are dedicated to serving our customers by way of modern new merchandise,” the corporate mentioned within the weblog put up.
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.
However it mentioned in its weblog put up that “the panorama has shifted” prior to now few years the place extra off-the-shelf, pre-trained fashions are available. By leveraging Google’s LLMs, Character AI mentioned it may concentrate on 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 had 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 workforce.
“I’m tremendous excited to return to Google and work as a part of the Google DeepMind workforce. I’m so happy with every thing we constructed at Character.AI over the past 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 unbelievable Character.AI workforce, 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 affirm whether or not the settlement may very well be thought-about an acquisition.
Different huge tech corporations have primarily purchased corporations by way of “acquihiring,” when the chief workforce and huge 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 strategy to keep away from regulatory considerations 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-about shopping for Character AI, although Musk later denied the report on his social community, X (previously Twitter).
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