Character.AI Co-Founders Hired by Google in Licensing Deal
- Startup’s founders previously worked at the search giant
- Microsoft and Amazon have struck similar deals with startups
Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas Adiwardana
Photographer: Winni Wintermeyer/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Character.AI’s co-founders are joining Google in a larger deal that will allow the search giant to license the artificial intelligence startup’s technology.
Character.AI, a startup known for chatbots that can mimic anyone or anything, announced the news in a blog post on Friday. Founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, along with some members of its research team, will join Alphabet Inc.’s Google, the company said. The startup’s new interim chief executive officer will be Dominic Perella, who had been Character.AI’s general counsel.