Google strikes a $2.7 billion deal with Character.AI to rehire AI pioneer

Google Strikes a $2.7 Billion Deal with Character.AI to Rehire AI Pioneer

August [Location] — In a bold strategic move, Google has entered into a substantial $2.7 billion agreement with the AI chatbot startup Character.AI, securing not just the technology but also re-acquiring a pivotal talent who has significantly shaped the AI landscape. The arrangement primarily centres around licensing the startup’s cutting-edge technology, but insiders suggest another key motivation: re-hiring Noam Shazeer, a former Google luminary and a critical figure in modern AI development.

Noam Shazeer, 48, is an AI expert whose work has had a profound influence on the field. Having joined Google early in its history as one of the first 100 employees, Shazeer played a pivotal role in advancing the company’s AI capabilities. In 2017, he co-authored a highly influential paper titled “Attention is All You Need” along with seven other Google researchers, introducing a new deep learning architecture. This paper has since become foundational, accumulating over 100,000 citations from other researchers and cementing Shazeer’s status as a key innovator in the realm of large language models.

In 2021, Shazeer departed Google following internal disagreements over the public release of an AI chatbot he had helped develop. Despite the team’s advocacy, Google’s management opted against showcasing the technology publicly. This decision led Shazeer to create Character.AI, a startup focused on developing AI chatbots capable of engaging in natural conversational interactions. Supported by over $150 million in funding, the startup achieved a valuation of $1 billion by March of this year.

The August agreement not only brings Character.AI’s technologies under Google’s aegis but also sees Shazeer returning to the company, where he joins the DeepMind research team. DeepMind is an entity within Google renowned for its advanced work in artificial intelligence. Shazeer’s return is seen as a significant asset, given his expertise and track record in the field.

The financial terms of the deal also proved lucrative for Shazeer, who reportedly earned hundreds of millions of dollars as part of the transaction, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a similar vein, other tech giants are making strategic moves in the AI arena. For instance, Amazon has recently signed a deal to license AI models from the robotics startup Covariant, also bringing over some of Covariant’s co-founders and key personnel. Such moves underline a broader industry trend of securing top AI talent and technology through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

Within Google, the decision to reacquire Shazeer and Character.AI’s technology underscores the company’s commitment to staying at the forefront of AI innovation. As companies continue to vie for leadership in the development of advanced AI systems, securing the expertise of pioneers like Shazeer remains a critical component of their strategic endeavours.

Source: Noah Wire Services