Inworld AI raises $50M to populate games and the metaverse with smart characters
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Inworld AI has raised $50 million for its developer platform for creating AI-driven virtual characters in video games and the metaverse.
The firm raised the money in March and is announcing it now. It also hired special effects and entertainment pioneer John Gaeta as its chief creative officer. The company’s idea is to populate games with smarter computer-controlled characters so that players can have longer conversations with them and feel like the world is much more immersive.
The company was started a year ago by conversational AI pioneers Ilya Gelfenbeyn, Michael Ermolenko, and Kylan Gibbs. The company raised the money to bring richer social interactions of smarter computer-controlled characters — known as NPCs, or non-player characters — to immersive worlds in gaming, metaverses, entertainment, and brand experiences.
Section 32 and Intel Capital led the round, which also included investments from Founders Fund, Accelerator Investments, First Spark Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Bitkraft Ventures, CRV, Microsoft’s M12 fund, Micron Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, SK Telecom Venture Capital, and The Venture Reality Fund.
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Like in the Ryan Reynolds movie Free Guy, Inworld brings NPCs to life for gaming, metaverse, and business applications. While virtual worlds have become more immersive, realistic, and open, interactions with characters have remained
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