Meta and xAI are vying for a collaboration with Character.ai, a start-up known for its chatbots that simulate conversations in various personas, as the competition heats up in the AI industry. While Meta eyes integrating AI chatbots into its platforms, xAI’s chatbot Grok caters to premium subscribers on Musk’s social media platform X. Both companies are keen on potential partnerships with Character.ai, a sought-after entity in the AI sector, as they strategise to advance their AI capabilities and offerings.
Meta and Elon Musk’s xAI are competing for a partnership with Character.ai, a start-up known for its chatbots that generate conversations in various personas. Meta and Character.ai recently discussed collaborating on research projects, including pre-training and developing models, according to sources familiar with the matter. Similarly, xAI has held talks with Character.ai about a potential partnership, although no agreements have been reached.
Character.ai, backed by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, represents a sought-after entity in the AI industry. Meta aims to incorporate AI persona chatbots into platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, while xAI’s chatbot, Grok, is available to premium subscribers on X, Musk’s social media platform.
The reluctance for outright acquisitions among Big Tech companies, due to regulatory concerns, mirrors Microsoft’s scrutinized $13 billion alliance with OpenAI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed ambitions to make Meta the leading AI company, pursuing additional partnerships.
Meta employs an open-source model strategy with its Llama models, contrasting with proprietary models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Despite investor concerns over costs, Meta has committed to increasing its AI investments. Concurrently, Musk’s xAI is close to securing a $6 billion fundraise to bolster its AI endeavors.
Noam Shazeer, Character.ai’s founder, is driven to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) and is seeking more resources to achieve this goal. Both Meta and Character.ai declined to comment on the discussions, while Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
