infotech

Meta Acquires Voice-mimicking Technology Startup Play AI

Meta has reportedly finalized an acquisition agreement for Play AI, a California-based startup developing artificial intelligence (AI)-based voice cloning technology. 

As reported by Bloomberg and Engadget on Saturday (July 12th), all Play AI employees will officially join Meta starting next week, according to an internal memo obtained by the outlets. 

Once added to Meta, the Play AI team will be under the leadership of Johan Schalkwyk, the former head of AI speech research at Google, who was recently recruited by Meta from another voice AI startup. 

Play AI is known for its tools that mimic a user's voice and generate new, human-like voices. This technology can be applied across various platforms such as websites, apps, and mobile devices. 

In its internal memo, Meta stated that Play AI's technology aligns closely with the company's vision, particularly for the development of products such as Meta AI, AI Characters, and its wearable devices. Meta confirmed the acquisition to Bloomberg, though it did not disclose the transaction value. 

This move is considered part of Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious strategy to build the AI Superintelligence lab, a new team dedicated to developing artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence. 

In June, Meta also invested US$14.3 billion in Scale AI, a deal that included the hiring of its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead the AI lab. 

In its effort to build a top-tier AI team, Meta is also reportedly offering employees of rival companies bonuses of up to US$100 million to join. 

So far, Reuters has reported that Meta has recruited several prominent figures from the AI industry, including the creators of ChatGPT and GPT-4 from OpenAI, as well as several former Google Gemini employees. Meanwhile, Bloomberg previously noted that key executives from Apple's AI division have also moved to Meta. 

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Tag: Meta Play AI Technology