Meta in advanced talks to acquire voice cloning start-up PlayAI
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is in advanced talks to acquire PlayAI, a voice cloning start-up, according to Bloomberg. The potential acquisition highlights Meta's strategy of acquiring top artificial intelligence (AI) talent. The news comes after Meta's recent $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and the addition of its CEO Alexandr Wang to Meta's 'superintelligence' team. Before this deal, Meta was in talks to acquire Perplexity AI.
Acquisition details
What is PlayAI?
Based in Palo Alto, California, PlayAI specializes in using AI to replicate voices. The acquisition deal is still in the works and could change at any time. While the financial details of this potential deal remain undisclosed, it is expected that some employees from PlayAI will be onboarded by Meta if the acquisition goes through.
Talent acquisition
Meta hires 3 senior researchers from OpenAI
Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority for Meta, leading to a series of strategic acquisitions. The company has also been on a talent acquisition spree, recently hiring three senior researchers from OpenAI. The team includes Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai. They are now part of Meta's 'superintelligence' team. However, Beyer has denied claims that they were offered a $100 million sign-on bonus to join the company.
Controversy
Altman has criticized Meta's hiring practices
OpenAI chief Sam Altman has criticized Meta's hiring practices, claiming that the company offers huge packages to attract top talent due to a lack of innovation. However, Meta has denied these allegations. The controversy highlights the cutthroat competition in the AI industry and Meta's aggressive strategy to stay ahead by acquiring top talent and technology.