Image via Alter
Google is set to buy an AI-powered imaging company for $100 million in a bid to take on TikTok.
The firm, which is called Alter, focuses on making avatars. Google has confirmed the acquisition, but did not provide many details beyond the fact that the deal closed “about two months ago.” It seems like Google is pushing for Alter in order to compete with TikTok.
The former COO of Alter, Jonathan Slimak, announced back in September on LinkedIn that he was starting a new position at Google, but did not directly acknowledge the acquisition.
Alter was founded in 2020 and was originally called Facemoji. It served as a plug-and-play avatar vendor for social and gaming platforms. Twitter provided about $3 million to the company alongside others.
Social media platforms like Snapchat utilize full-body avatars. For Snapchat, Bitmoji’s are one of the most recognizable features for the platform. Facebook and Instagram have their own versions of a similar concept. Seeing that TikTok is the competition being targeted by Google’s latest move, it’s highly likely that Google may be bringing avatars to YouTube Shorts.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has made a total of at least eight major acquisitions this year alone, with the last one being micro-LED producer Raxium back in February.
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