Sources: Google in Talks to Invest in AI Startup Character.AI

FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
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Sources: Google in Talks to Invest in AI Startup Character.AI

FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Alphabet's Google is in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, as the fast growing artificial intelligence chatbot startup seeks capital to train models and keep up with user demand, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The investment, which could be structured as convertible notes, according to a third source, will deepen the existing partnership Character.AI already has with Google, in which it uses Google's cloud services and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to train models.
Google and Character AI did not respond to requests for comment.
Founded by former Google employees Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI allows people to chat with virtual versions of celebrities like Billie Eilish or anime characters, while creating their own chatbots and AI assistants. It is free to use, but offers subscription model that charges $9.99 a month for users who want to skip the virtual line to access a chatbot.
Character.AI's chatbots, with various roles and tones to choose from, have appealed to users ages 18 to 24, who contributed about 60% of its website traffic, according to data from Similarweb. The demographic is helping the company position itself as the purveyor of more fun personal AI companions, compared to other AI chatbots from OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard.
The company previously said its website had attracted 100 million monthly visits in the first six months since its launch.
Character.AI is also in talks to raise equity funding from venture capital investors, which could value the company at over $5 billion, sources said. In March, it raised $150 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz at $1 billion valuation.
The talks with Google are ongoing and terms of the deal could change, said the sources, who requested anonymity as the discussions are private, Reuters reported.
Google has been investing in AI startups, including $2 billion for model maker Anthropic in the form of convertible notes, on top of its earlier equity investment. Anthropic uses Google's cloud services as well as its latest version of TPUs.
That is part of a recent trend in which big tech cloud services providers are striking deals with AI companies to entice them to use certain cloud or hardware in the computer-intensive race to build models and serve consumers, including Microsoft investments in OpenAI and Google and Amazon's bets on Anthropic.



Saudi Aramco Unveils New Initiatives to Drive Digital Development

Saudi Aramco unveiled on Tuesday new initiatives aimed at driving the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions across its operations. (SPA)
Saudi Aramco unveiled on Tuesday new initiatives aimed at driving the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions across its operations. (SPA)
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Saudi Aramco Unveils New Initiatives to Drive Digital Development

Saudi Aramco unveiled on Tuesday new initiatives aimed at driving the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions across its operations. (SPA)
Saudi Aramco unveiled on Tuesday new initiatives aimed at driving the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions across its operations. (SPA)

Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, unveiled on Tuesday new initiatives aimed at driving the development and deployment of advanced digital solutions across its operations.

They were announced during the Global AI Summit (GAIN), which began at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh.

Aramco's Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation, Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, said: “New digital technologies such as generative AI and the Industrial Internet of Things are expected to transform not only how we work, but also our commercial environment.”

“Aramco is pioneering the use of these technologies at an industrial scale to add significant value across our operations. Our history of innovation inspires us to continue harnessing emerging technologies and help realize the Kingdom’s ambitions to become a global AI leader,” he added.

During the Global AI Summit, Aramco signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Cerebras Systems and FuriosaAI to explore collaboration in supercomputing and AI. Another MoU with Rebellions focuses on the potential deployment of the company’s Neural Processing Unit chips in Aramco’s data centers to enhance digital infrastructure and drive advanced AI innovations.

Aramco also signed an MoU with SambaNova Systems to explore ways to accelerate AI capabilities, innovation, and adoption across the Kingdom.

In addition, Aramco announced the deployment of an AI supercomputer, one of the first systems of its kind in the region. Powered by some of the most powerful NVIDIA graphical processing units (GPUs), it is designed to accelerate complex computing tasks, such as analyzing drilling plans and geological data to recommend optimal well placement.

Aramco has also collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies on the initial deployment of industrial generative AI solutions on the edge, aimed at enhancing facility monitoring, predictive maintenance, and the use of autonomous drones.

These initiatives are part of Aramco’s broader strategy to adopt cutting-edge digital solutions across its business. This builds on the company’s launch of the Saudi Accelerated Innovation Lab (SAIL) — a national engine to transform innovative ideas into fully functional products — and its Global AI Corridor ecosystem.

Aramco’s approach has led to the creation of its first large language model (LLM) for industrial AI applications and the launch of the Eye on AI Program, which aims to establish robust AI cybersecurity governance, equip users with essential cybersecurity skills, and adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape.