Character.AI, a chatbot-creator startup founded in 2021, is reportedly in talks with Google to finalize an investment of hundreds of millions. The move would deepen existing ties between the startup and Alphabet-owned Google, and could bring its valuation to over $5 billion. Character.AI offers chatbots that can impersonate public figures, anime characters, and professionals, and a portion of the chatbots also generate images based on users’ messages and inputs. The platform is free to use, but a $9.99 subscription allows users to skip the virtual queue and gain priority access to the chatbot.
