Artificial Agency raises $16 million to alter NPC behaviour in games

• The technology can integrate with existing video games or serve as the foundation for new ones

Canada-based Artificial Agency has raised $16 million in funding to develop its AI-powered behaviour engine that can improve how NPCs behave and interact in games. 

The Artificial Agency team includes ex-Google DeepMind researchers who believe the future lies in using AI-generated NPCs in video game designs.

According to a release, funding for the round was provided by BDC Deep Tech, Kaya, Flying Fish, Toyota Ventures, Radical Ventures, and Tirta Ventures.

A competitive space  

Despite its newly secured funding, the startup is entering the crowded market of companies using AI to create more realistic NPCs. Competitors in this space include Inworld, which also focuses on AI-generated behaviours for NPCs, and the trillion-dollar giant Nvidia.

Traditionally, NPCs rely on decision trees and pre-written scripts, limiting player interactions to repetitive dialogues. Artificial Agency's behaviour engine aims to alter this by requiring developers to assign each NPC a set of motivations, rules, and goals. 

This approach will allow NPCs to respond more naturally to player behaviour. The technology can integrate with existing video games or serve as the foundation for new ones, transforming developers into stage managers rather than scriptwriters.

“AI has enormous potential to revolutionise gaming, yet, to date, the focus has predominantly been on very limited human-to-AI conversations," said co-founder and CEO of Artificial Agency Brian Tanner.  

“The real opportunity lies in unleashing generative behaviour into whole worlds and giving developers the tools to transform both characters as well as other decision-making systems into individualized AI agents with perceptions, actions, personalities, and goals.”