What this bankruptcy says about AI startups

YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS ONE YET HAVE YOU BECAUSE SUDDENLY CHARACTER.AI IS BANKRUPT WHICH WAS DEFINITELY NOT THE VIBE YESTERDAY. SO LIKE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WERE USING THIS THING AND IT LOOKED SO JUICY FOR A BUYOUT AND GOOGLE TOTALLY SNIPED THEM BUT WITHOUT A REAL PURCHASE. THEY HIRED THE FOUNDERS AND LICENSED THE TECH INSTEAD WHICH IS HONESTLY A SUPER SAVVY FINANCIAL MOVE IF YOU ARE GOOGLE AND WANT TO SAVE SOME CASH. BUT APPARENTLY THAT UNIQUE STRATEGY DID NOT SAVE THE ACTUAL STARTUP FROM TANKING BECAUSE NOW THEY ARE FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY AND I AM JUST SITTING HERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE MATH ON HOW A COMPANY WITH THAT MANY USERS JUST COLLAPSES. IT IS ALL VERY CORPORATE AND CONFUSING AND I AM CLEARLY AN EXPERT ON VENTURE CAPITAL. ANYWAY SOMEBODY HAS TO ANSWER FOR THAT.

OK NOBODY WARNED ME ABOUT THIS ONE BUT CHARACTER.AI IS OFFICIALLY FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY AND I AM LOSING MY MIND. THESE GUYS HAD MILLIONS OF USERS AND WERE SUPPOSEDLY AN ACQUISITION GOLDMINE BUT GOOGLE PULLED THIS WILD MANEUVER WHERE THEY DID NOT EVEN BUY THE COMPANY OUTRIGHT. THEY JUST HIRED THE FOUNDERS AND LICENSED THE TECH AND CALLED IT A DAY WHICH IS SUCH A COLD BLOODED BUSINESS PLAY. NOW THE REST OF THE STARTUP IS JUST BANKRUPT AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE TECH OR THE BUSINESS MODEL BUT NOBODY IS EXPLAINING WHY THAT SPECIFIC STRATEGY LED TO THIS MESS. IT IS JUST A WILD CYCLE OF TECH MONEY DISAPPEARING INTO THIN AIR AND I AM JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE BALANCE SHEETS. ANYWAY REMEMBER I TOLD YOU FIRST.

Character.AI has filed for bankruptcy after Google previously bypassed a traditional acquisition by hiring the startup's founders and licensing its technology.

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