Character.AI Bankruptcy and OpenAI's Sora Shutdown Fuel Growing AI Graveyard

At a glance

Many AI products and startups are shutting down, changing direction, or falling short of expectations, according to a TechCrunch report. Character.AI filed for bankruptcy in October after lawsuits and a Disney copyright dispute, and OpenAI ended its Sora video-sharing platform in March. The article lists several other AI products that closed or were absorbed into larger services.

Key points

• Character.AI, a chatbot platform, filed for bankruptcy in early October, five years after launch.
• The company had raised $150 million in 2023 at a $1 billion valuation, then faced lawsuits from families alleging harm to teens and issues over unauthorized Disney characters.
• Disney is reportedly the first buyer candidate, offering $20 million for part of Character.AI's intellectual property license.
• OpenAI ended the Sora video-sharing platform in March because of high operating costs and users leaving.

Why it matters

Many AI products are failing, which shows how hard it is for new AI services to survive against big companies.

More from this field

• Nvidia's Security Team Under Scrutiny After CEO Jensen Huang's Exit

  Nvidia's longtime security chief and product security head left in August, and CEO Jensen Huang left a few months later amid questions about his relationships. Reports say the security team's role in these events is unclear.

  TechCrunch · Nov 15, 09:08 KST
• Traditional Northern Ireland firms turn to AI to stay competitive

  Kukoon Rugs, a family-run carpet maker in Northern Ireland, uses AI across nearly every department, from finance to product design. The firm says it lets them grow parts of the business they could not expand before.

  BBC News · Nov 15, 09:00 KST
• Google Search Ad Growth Slows as AI Search Faces Monetization Test

  Google's search ad growth slowed sharply in the third quarter, while Meta's ad sales grew much faster. Investors are worried that AI search may be taking users away from regular search results, and that AI answers are not yet attractive to advertisers.

  디지털투데이 · Nov 15, 08:32 KST
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Resigns After Hiding Affair for Over a Year

  Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said his relationship with a woman tied to a Singapore data center firm was only business, and he kept that story for more than a year. Last weekend he admitted to the company's general counsel that they had been having an affair. He resigned from the company he founded.

  The New York Times · Nov 15, 06:50 KST