Google Covertly Pays $100M for 'Alter,' Twitter-Backed AI Avatar Startup

October 28, 2022 By Fakun Gram

(Image Credit Google)

According to reports, Google has paid over $100 million to acquire Alter, an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar company that allows businesses and creators to express their virtual identities, in an effort to up its content game and compete with TikTok. Some of Alter's top executives updated their LinkedIn pages to reflect their new job with Google, even though they haven't yet acknowledged the takeover. However, a Google spokeswoman recently told TechCrunch that the company has actually acquired Alter, though the spokesperson would not go into further detail about the deal. When Alter first launched, it was called Facemoji, a platform that offered plug-and-play tools to help game and app creators incorporate avatar systems into their creations. The Czech Republic and the United States both host offices for Alter. The firm received $3 million in seed funding from Play Ventures, Roosh Ventures, Twitter, and other investors.

However, Facemoji later made the decision to change its name to Alter. Google has recently made large expenditures on its AI technology. According to CNET, the company is putting AI at the center of its product line, which includes everything from language learning models to image producers. For instance, Google's search engine makes use of AI to help consumers filter out undesired results and support those who are going through personal challenges. To enhance the phone's capacity to read images or translate voice, Google is also integrating AI processing units into its hardware, such as the recently introduced Pixel 7. Google's social media aspirations are getting a new lease on life thanks to the company's short-form video platform, YouTube Shorts, which was developed to compete with TikTok. It's possible that Google Avatars will be integrated with Shorts at some point in the future.

By Fakun Gram

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