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According to TechCrunch, Google has completed the acquisition of AI avatar startup Alter for $100 million. The platform allows users to create and share their avatars using artificial intelligence (AI). By acquiring Alter, Google wants to compete with TikTok and boosts its content game.
The acquisition was reportedly completed about two months ago, but both sides decided to announce it to the public just now. Some of Alter’s top executives changed their LinkedIn bios a few months ago and announced that they had joined Google without giving any clue about the acquisition of the company by Google.
The deal is made at $100 million, but a Google spokesperson refused to disclose the financial terms.
Google pays $100 million to acquire AI avatar startup Alter
Alter was first known as Facemoji and intended to bring avatar systems to gaming and social platforms. Twitter was one of the first investors in Alter. Alter raised $3 million in seed funding with Play Ventures and Roosh Ventures. A person familiar with the matter told the outlet that Google wants to use Alter to improve and ramp up its content offerings.
TikTok-style videos are becoming immensely popular among users, and almost all well-known social media platforms are adopting this style. Instagram rolled out Reels as a clone of TikTok, and Google brought Shorts to YouTube. Instagram and Snapchat also allow users to create and share their virtual identities. Google now wants to adopt the same strategy by acquiring Alter.
So far this year, and by adding Alter to the portfolio, Google has completed the acquisition of eight startups. Back in May, the search giant also bought micro-LED producer Raxium to boost its AR efforts. Most startups bought by Google have AI at the heart of their operations. As the senior director of product management for Google Silicon Teams already noted, the future of Pixel phones revolves around AI.