The company was founded by Robert Yang, a neuroscientist and former assistant professor at MIT, who aims to develop AI agents with "social-emotional intelligence". Altera is currently testing the model with 750 Minecraft players and plans to officially launch later in the summer. The company has gained support from a range of high-profile investors, including Alumni Ventures, a16z SPEEDRUN, Benchmark partner Mitch Lasky, and Duolingo Chief Business Officer Bob Meese.
Key takeaways:
- Startup Altera has raised $9 million in an oversubscribed seed round to develop AI-based players for gaming, with its first product being an AI agent that can play Minecraft.
- The company's AI agents are designed to have 'social-emotional intelligence', making their own decisions in-game and interacting with players like a human would.
- Altera is currently testing the model with 750 Minecraft players and plans to officially launch later in the summer, with plans to expand to other video games and digital experiences in the future.
- Altera has gained support from high-profile investors such as First Spark Ventures, Patron, Alumni Ventures, a16z SPEEDRUN, and more, demonstrating confidence in the company's potential.