Meta Looks to Acquire More Talent for its Expanding AI Push

As more and more AI features filter into Meta’s apps, it’s worth noting that it’s not even close to done with its AI expansion plans just yet, with the company investing $65 billion into AI projects this year alone, as it looks to become the leader in the broader AI race.

And according to reports, that could soon see Meta expanding into conversational AI, that can talk to you in a more relatable, custom voice.

As reported by Bloomberg:

“Meta is in advanced talks to acquire PlayAI, a small startup using artificial intelligence to replicate voices […] Meta is expected to acquire the California-based startup’s technology and some of its employees, according to people familiar with the matter.”

The deal, it’s worth noting, is not finalized as yet, but Bloomberg speculates that this is another means for Meta to acquire AI talent, as part of its bigger push to dominate the AI development race.

Over the past few weeks, Meta’s been on an AI hiring spree, offering massive packages to some of the top researchers and experts in the industry. It’s already signed up Scale CEO Alexandr Wang as the lead for its new AI “superintelligence” project, while it’s also hired various former OpenAI researchers to join the next-level project.

The aim of Meta’s “superintelligence” initiative is to create AI systems that can exceed the capacity of the human brain, and can actually “think” and reason in ways beyond the realm of the current wave of AI models.

Whether that’s even possible is another question of debate, but Meta’s making a major push to at least test the limits of AI, and what can be done with logic-trained systems.

Conversational AI tools could be another aspect of this, though it may also help Meta to build its existing AI bot models, with further customization options to create your own responsive AI likeness.

Meta’s been developing its AI bot platform for some time, which enables creators to build AI versions of themselves that their audience can converse with at any time.

Custom voices could add another element to this, ensuring that Meta’s AI bots are more relatable, more engaging, and are easier to talk to via its evolving wearables offerings.

Whether or not people actually want that is another question, and there is some precedent to suggest that AI bots in the likeness of celebrities, or anybody else, won’t catch on a Meta hopes.

Back in 2023, Meta rolled out a range of chatbots on Messenger, which provided responses that had been guided by stars like Kendall Jenner, Dwyane Wade, MrBeast, and many more.

But no one really cared, and very few people used them. That eventually saw Meta scrap the project less than a year after launch, their initial launch, which seems to suggest that chatting with bots in the style of celebrities isn’t a major selling point.

Though that hasn’t stopped Meta from trying. Last August, reports suggested that Meta was offering millions to big-name celebrities to use their voices for AI projects.

And now, it’s looking to acquire a company that can replicate voices, which is along similar lines.

Maybe that leads to more relatable bots, which people can talk to anytime via their Meta AI glasses, and maybe that will, eventually, lead to more opportunities for connection and engagement with these tools.

Or it’s just a pure talent acquisition push, as part of its broader superintelligence initiative.

Either way, Meta’s clearly nowhere close to done with its AI features, and you can expect to see a lot more on this front coming soon.