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Ex-Google Engineers Who Founded Character.AI Rejoin Company with New AI Partnership

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Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who co-founded the AI startup Character.AI, are rejoining Google as part of a new collaboration with Google’s AI unit DeepMind. Character.AI, a prominent player in the AI field, uses large language models to enable users to create and interact with chatbots. Despite reaching a $1 billion valuation in its early days, the startup did not generate revenue initially but has considered offering subscription services in the future.

Shazeer and De Freitas left Google in 2021 after their attempts to advance Google’s chatbot technology were reportedly rejected. They founded Character.AI the same year. The startup has now agreed to provide Google with a nonexclusive license for its large language model technology. This partnership will allow Character.AI to secure additional funding and focus on developing personalized AI products.

The move highlights Google’s effort to strengthen its position in the competitive AI landscape, particularly as it faces increased scrutiny over its AI initiatives. The partnership is also part of a broader trend of major tech companies forming alliances and acquiring talent to enhance their AI capabilities amidst regulatory challenges. For example, Microsoft recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of AI startup DeepMind, and U.K. regulators have scrutinized Microsoft’s acquisition of DeepMind staff.

 

Tesla Car in ‘Full Self-Driving’ Mode Kills Seattle Motorcyclist

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A Tesla Model S car, operating in “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) mode, was involved in a fatal accident that killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist in the Seattle area in April, police confirmed. This incident marks at least the second fatal accident involving Tesla’s FSD technology.

The 56-year-old driver of the Tesla was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide after admitting to looking at his cell phone while using the driver assistance feature. Tesla states that its FSD software requires active driver supervision and does not make vehicles autonomous.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is aware of the crash and is gathering information. The NHTSA had previously reported one fatal accident involving a Tesla vehicle using FSD software between August 2022 and August 2023.

Experts point out the limitations of Tesla’s camera-dependent system, highlighting the challenges of accurately detecting objects and measuring distances. Tesla’s rivals, such as Alphabet’s Waymo, use additional sensors like lidars to enhance driving environment detection.

This incident comes as Elon Musk continues to push for the development of self-driving vehicles. Despite growing regulatory scrutiny and previous recalls, Musk remains optimistic about achieving full self-driving capability.