According to Reuters, Google is currently in discussions to invest in Character.AI, a rapidly growing AI chatbot startup seeking capital for model training and meeting user demand.
Character.AI, founded by former Google employees Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, allows users to interact with virtual versions of celebrities and create their own chatbots. The startup offers a $9.99/month subscription (around PHP560) for users who want expedited access to chatbots.
The potential investment, possibly structured as convertible notes, will strengthen the existing partnership between Character.AI and Google. The startup currently utilizes Google’s cloud services and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for model training.
Image taken from Google Official YouTube Channel
Character.AI’s chatbots, catering to users aged 18 to 24, have gained popularity, positioning the company as a provider of entertaining personal AI companions compared to competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.
Character.AI is also in talks with venture capital investors for equity funding, aiming for a valuation exceeding $5 billion (approx. PHP280 billion).
In March, the startup secured $150 million (approx. PHP6.7 billion) in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $1 billion (around 56 billion) valuation.
Do you think Google’s investment in Character.AI will make chatting with virtual celebs and AI assistants the next big trend?
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