The move could face scrutiny from regulatory bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice in the U.S., and the EU, due to concerns over "reverse acqui-hires". Character.AI, which has raised over $150 million in funding largely from a16z, noted that most of its staff will remain with the company and the funds from the Google agreement will help it continue to grow and focus on building personalized AI products.
Key takeaways:
- Noam Shazeer, co-founder and CEO of Character.AI, is returning to Google along with co-founder Daniel De Freitas and some other employees from the startup.
- Dominic Perella, Character.AI’s general counsel, is becoming an interim CEO at the startup, with most of the staff staying at Character.AI.
- Google is signing a non-exclusive agreement with Character.AI to use its technology, providing increased funding for the startup to continue growing and focus on building personalized AI products.
- The move may be scrutinized by regulatory bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DoJ) in the U.S., and the EU due to concerns over 'reverse acqui-hires'.