Character platform ego AI raises $6.7m to make in-game characters more human-like

• The platform blends small language models and reinforcement learning to create human-like behaviour.
• Backers include Patron, Y Combinator, Accel, Boost VC, and angels from Coinbase, DeepMind, and OpenAI.
• Partnerships with AI Singapore, NUS, and NTU will power large-scale AI character training.

AI-driven Character platform ego has launched a new engine character.world engine that uses its proprietary AI foundation model.

The new engine combines small language models and reinforcement learning to power human-like character behaviour in games.

Ego AI also raised $6.7 million in a seed funding round to support the training of its foundation model and expand its research and engineering teams.

To meet the computational needs of training and running its human-like AI characters, ego AI partnered with AI Singapore and is collaborating with the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

“Making games richer" 

Furthermore, ego AI has also introduced the Character Context Protocol (CCP), an open-source framework that lets AI characters retain their personalities, memories, and relationships across different platforms. 

Founded in 2023, ego AI said it aims to leverage its character.world and set a new standard for persistent and believable AI characters in games.

Patron, Y Combinator, Accel, and Boost VC contributed to the funding round, along with angels from firms like Coinbase, DeepMind, and OpenAI.

“Games and digital worlds have always struggled with flat, scripted NPCs that feel mechanical and forgettable," said ego AI is tackling that head-on with characters who act, react and remember like real players," said ego CEO Vishnu Hari.

“Our mission is to move beyond chat windows and give people living, persistent characters who can make games richer, worlds more alive and interactions more meaningful."