Character AI, an AI avatar company founded in 2022, is forging a significant partnership with Google. The startup announced that it will license its large language model (LLM) technology to Google, which will result in increased funding for Character AI.
This financial boost will allow Character AI to expand its operations and concentrate on developing personalized AI products for users globally.
As part of the agreement, Character AI’s co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, along with some research team members, will transition to Google. Despite this shift, the majority of Character AI’s employees will stay with the company. Dominic Perella, the company’s general counsel, will step in as the interim CEO, ensuring continuity in leadership.
Character AI plans to leverage Google’s LLMs to enhance its post-training capabilities and focus on creating innovative products. The company’s blog post highlights its intention to invest in developing new tools and applications for its users while adapting to the evolving AI landscape with more readily available pre-trained models.
Founded in 2022, Character AI gained significant attention and valuation, reaching $1 billion by March 2023 following a $150 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company initially built its AI avatars using its own models through a comprehensive approach that included pre-training and deployment.
Recent developments in the AI industry, such as Meta’s decision to discontinue its celebrity AI chatbots, have underscored the shifting landscape. Google and Character AI have not disclosed specific details about their agreement, and it remains unclear if the arrangement resembles an acquisition or acqui-hire. Notably, Character AI has been previously involved in potential acquisition talks, including rumored interest from Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI.
