Google plans to invest in AI chatbot startup Character.AI

Alphabet Inc’s Google is reportedly in superior discussions to speculate tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Character.AI, an rising synthetic intelligence chatbot startup. In line with Reuters, this funding may considerably enhance Character.AI’s capabilities to satisfy rising consumer demand and advance its AI mannequin coaching.

Deepening an present partnership

Character.AI already leverages Google’s cloud companies and Tensor Processing Units for mannequin coaching. The potential funding, presumably within the type of convertible notes, is ready to strengthen this partnership additional. Nonetheless, each Google and Character.AI haven’t responded to requests for touch upon these discussions.

Based by ex-Google workers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI has made a reputation for itself by permitting customers to work together with digital variations of celebrities and anime characters. Its platform additionally permits the creation of customized chatbots and AI assistants. Whereas the service is free, it affords a subscription mannequin at $9.99 a month for precedence entry to chatbots.

Demographic attain and web site visitors

Character.AI has discovered specific attraction among the many 18–24 age group, accounting for about 60% of its web site visitors, per Similarweb. This demographic is essential in positioning the corporate as a supplier of partaking AI companions, differentiating it from rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

In its preliminary six months post-launch, Character.AI’s web site garnered an astounding 100 million month-to-month visits. The corporate can also be in talks for fairness funding from enterprise capital traders, doubtlessly valuing it at over $5 billion. Earlier in March, it raised $150 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the corporate at $1 billion.

Google’s AI funding technique

Google’s potential funding in Character.AI is a part of a broader pattern of main tech cloud suppliers like Microsoft and Amazon making strategic investments in AI corporations. These investments typically encourage the usage of particular cloud companies or {hardware} within the quickly evolving AI mannequin improvement and client service area.

This pattern of tech giants investing in AI startups has not gone unnoticed by regulators. U.S. Federal Commerce Fee chair Lina Khan just lately famous that the company is inspecting these investments for any anti-competitive behaviors.