Noam Shazeer back at Google in $ 2.7-billion deal: Who he is, what...
Google recently made headlines by rehiring a former employee in a deal worth $2.7 billion to lead its Artificial Intelligence (AI) project. Noam Shazeer, the key figure in this deal, returned to the tech giant through a process known as ‘reverse acqui-hire’, which has raised concerns about competition and market domination by big corporations.
Who is Noam Shazeer?
Noam Shazeer, a 48-year-old tech expert, initially joined Google in 2000 and left after 21 years due to a disagreement over a chatbot project he had developed with a colleague, Daniel De Freitas. During his tenure at Google, Shazeer co-authored a significant research paper in 2017 titled ‘Attention is All You Need’, which laid the foundation for modern generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, as well as Google’s Gemini.
In collaboration with De Freitas, Shazeer unveiled Meena in 2020, an advanced chatbot capable of engaging in conversations on various topics. Despite its potential, Google chose not to release Meena publicly due to concerns about its responses.
Character.ai and the Journey
Following their departure from Google, Shazeer and De Freitas founded Character.ai in 2021, a chatbot service enabling users to interact with AI models of celebrities, fictional characters, and service providers. The startup raised $43 million in seed funding and aimed to provide companionship and assistance to individuals facing loneliness or depression.
Character.ai gained significant traction, with hundreds of thousands of user interactions during beta testing and over 1.7 million downloads of its mobile app within the first week of launch. However, challenges arose as the firm struggled to sustain the costs of technology development and accommodate user demands for romantic interactions, deviating from the company's original vision.
The $ 2.7-billion Deal with Google
In a strategic move, Google acquired the technology of Character.ai by striking a $2.7-billion deal, including hiring Shazeer, De Freitas, and other key personnel from the startup. As part of the agreement finalized last month, Shazeer now serves as the technical lead on Gemini, Google's primary AI initiative, alongside Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals.
The acquisition through acqui-hiring allows tech giants like Google to avoid regulatory obstacles and potential antitrust issues associated with full mergers. By not outright purchasing Character.ai, Google maintains regulatory compliance while gaining access to valuable talent and technology in the AI sector.
This transaction parallels similar agreements by other tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, emphasizing the intense competition and strategic importance of AI in today's market landscape.
