Google Hires Character.AI Co-Founders in Licensing Deal
Along with some members of its research team, Shazeer and De Freitas will transition to Alphabet Inc.'s Google.
Character.AI’s co-founders, Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, are joining Google as part of a deal that allows the tech giant to license the startup’s AI technology.[1]
Along with some members of its research team, Shazeer and De Freitas will transition to Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Dominic Perella, previously the company's general counsel, will step in as the interim CEO of Character.AI.
Existing investors will have their shares bought out at a price valuing the company at $2.5 billion, an increase from its previous $1 billion valuation, though below the $5 billion initially discussed with investors.
Character.AI, based in Menlo Park, California, will continue to operate under a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Google for its large language model technology. The startup assured that most of its team will continue to develop the Character.AI product and support its user base.
This move is part of a broader trend of large tech companies acquiring AI talent.
Earlier this year, Microsoft hired co-founders and staff from Inflection AI, and Amazon brought in executives and employees from Adept AI Labs Inc.
Character.AI, known for its customizable chatbots, has seen users create millions of characters, with some becoming popular conversation partners. Recently, the company introduced new features like Character Calls and Character Voice, allowing users to interact with chatbots through voice calls and custom voices.
