Google is suiting up to take on one of its biggest social media rivals with a new acquisition. The software maker has acquired Alter, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup for $100 million to compete with TikTok. This startup lets creators and influencers create virtual identities with avatars.
Sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that the acquisition was completed about two months ago, but neither company made public statements. This was further evidenced by the LinkedIn profiles of Alter’s top executives which were updated to show that they have joined Google without acknowledging the acquisition.
The publisher’s sources requested to stay anonymous since they were sharing nonpublic information.
Google has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has acquired Alter but did not say anything about the deal’s financial terms. Alter founders Jon Slimak and Robin Raszka are yet to respond to a request to comment.
Alter started off as Facemoji in its headquarters in the U.S. and Czech. Its platform helped game and app developers put avatar systems into their apps through plug-and-play tech. The startup managed to make $3 million in seed funding from investors including Play Ventures, Roosh Ventures, and Twitter.
The AI avatar platform was later rebranded as Alter.
People familiar with the matter have said that Google plans to use Alter to improve and ramp up its content offerings, but details are still unclear.
Google has been accelerating its efforts to compete against its social media rival TikTok recently. YouTube just received a visual overhaul last week and now it’s making Shorts a little easier to find on the platform. These short-form videos will soon get a dedicated tab on a creator’s profile, making them easier to locate if you are looking for specific videos.
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