Google has welcomed back Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, the co-founders of the AI startup Character.AI, through a strategic licensing agreement. This partnership grants Google a non-exclusive license to access Character.AI's advanced AI technology, marking a significant step for both companies. As part of the agreement, Character.AI will receive increased funding to enhance its capabilities. In the interim, Dominic Perella will step in as CEO of Character.AI.

Character.AI Founders Rejoin Google

Former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who launched Character.AI in 2022, are returning to their roots at Google. They initially departed from Google in 2021 after their proposal to launch an AI chatbot was declined by the tech giant. Now, they are bringing their innovative AI expertise back to Google.

The licensing agreement between Google and Character.AI allows Google access to Character.AI's large language model (LLM) technology, which is known for its sophisticated AI capabilities. This deal not only strengthens Google's AI portfolio but also provides Character.AI with the resources needed to continue developing personalized AI solutions for global users.

 

Character.AI's Vision for Growth

In an official statement, Character.AI expressed excitement about the partnership, highlighting the potential for accelerated progress:

“We’re excited to announce that we’ve entered into an agreement with Google that will allow us to accelerate our progress. As part of this agreement, Character.AI will provide Google with a non-exclusive license for its current LLM technology. This agreement will provide increased funding for Character.AI to continue growing and to focus on building personalized AI products for users around the world.”

Dominic Perella, who joined Character.AI's leadership team in mid-2023, will assume the role of interim CEO. Perella previously served as an executive at Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, bringing extensive experience to Character.AI's leadership.

 

Google's Perspective

Google has expressed enthusiasm about the return of Shazeer and De Freitas, particularly emphasizing the contributions of Noam Shazeer, a leading figure in machine learning. Although the specific roles of the founders within Google have not been disclosed, Shazeer will join Google DeepMind's research team, accompanied by several colleagues from Character.AI.

A Google spokesperson commented on the collaboration: “We're particularly thrilled to welcome back Noam, a preeminent researcher in machine learning, who is joining Google DeepMind's research team, along with a small number of his colleagues. This agreement will provide increased funding for Character.AI to continue growing and to focus on building personalized AI products for users around the world.”

 

A Trend of Strategic Acquisitions

Google's move mirrors similar strategic acquisitions by major tech companies in the AI space. Earlier this year, Microsoft invested $650 million to onboard co-founders and staff from AI startup Inflection, while Amazon brought in talent from Adept AI. These moves underscore the growing emphasis on AI technology and innovation among leading tech firms.

 

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