Meta in Acquisition Talks with PlayAI

Meta is currently engaged in acquisition discussions with PlayAI, a California-based startup that offers an AI voice cloning tool to its users, as reported by Bloomberg. According to the news organization, Meta aims to acquire the startup’s technology and absorb some of its employees. Although an agreement has not been reached yet, if the acquisition is successful, it could provide Meta with the necessary technology to expand its voice AI offerings. This could lead to the rollout of more voice features for its AI chatbot and assistant, as well as for its smart glasses from Ray-Ban and Oakley.

Recent Activities and Hiring Spree

The potential purchase of an AI voice cloning tool aligns with Meta’s recent activities. Company chief Mark Zuckerberg has been personally involved in a hiring spree for high-level AI experts over the past few months to form the company’s new AI Superintelligence team. Zuckerberg has reportedly been offering experts from rival companies like OpenAI compensation packages as big as $100 million, and a few have already accepted. Just a few days ago, Meta finalized a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, a startup that provides data labeling and model evaluation services for AI training. In exchange, Scale AI’s founder and CEO Alexandr Wang joined Meta and is believed to be heading its new Superintelligence lab.

PlayAI’s Technology and Potential Applications

PlayAI’s website states that its tool can mimic or clone a user’s voice and generate voices as real as humans, which can be deployed to websites, apps, and phones. While its acquisition could lead to useful voice features for Meta’s apps and websites, the company could also use the tool to make more life-like AI chatbots. Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the future involves a world where people’s AI friends outnumber human ones. We may already be seeing the beginnings of such a world, considering chatbot romances have become increasingly popular over the past few months.

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