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Tech giant <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> has acquired <keyword id="6281" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="alter" source="Orion">Alter</keyword>, an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar startup that was working on using AI to generate avatars for social media users and brands to express their virtual identity. According to TechCrunch, Google buys the startup for about $100 million in an effort to improve its content game and compete with TikTok. The acquisition was completed about two months ago, but neither company made a public announcement. Some of the top executives of Alter have updated their LinkedIn profiles to reveal that they have joined Google without acknowledging the acquisition, according to the report. A Google spokesperson confirmed that the company had acquired Alter but declined to comment on the financial terms of the transaction, it added. Alter started as Facemoji, a platform that offered plug-and-play technology for helping game and <keyword id="235499" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="app" source="Orion">App</keyword> developers add avatar systems to their Apps. Among its investors are Play Ventures, Roosh Ventures and Twitter, which invested $3 million in the startup. Later Facemoji rebranded as Alter. Alter founders <keyword id="15385499" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jon-slimak" source="Orion">Jon Slimak</keyword> and <keyword id="15385498" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="robin-raszka" source="Orion">Robin Raszka</keyword> did not respond to a request for comment, reports TechCrunch. Meanwhile, Google has recently rolled out custom emojis to its Chat for personalised experience. Emojis are a great method for users to express themselves in Google Chat, the tech giant said in a blogpost. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/apple-surges-to-add-178-billion-in-market-value-as-4th-quarter-earnings-help-drive-a-turnaround-in-the-stock-market/articleshow/95153518.cms">Apple surges to add $178 billion in market value as 4th-quarter earnings help drive a turnaround in the stock market</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/isro-carries-out-key-test-of-its-heaviest-rockets-engine/articleshow/95158967.cms">ISRO carries out key test of its heaviest rocket's engine</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-can-argue-its-case-on-inflation-control-say-experts/articleshow/95158091.cms">RBI can argue its case on inflation control say experts</a>

Google acquires AI avatar startup Alter for $100 million

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/id1418685721">Facemoji</a> is an app with over 2 million downloads that lets users create personalized digital avatars that you can overlay on photos and videos.</li><li>The team behind Facemoji says its incredibly customizable avatars allow for more creative "digital expression" that allows users to "be whoever you want to be."</li><li>The app especially caters its features to Gen Z, who considers identity more fluid than ever before.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Expressing diverse and nontraditional identity has never <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies">been more important than it is today</a>, and it's something that a new digital avatar creator called <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/facemoji-3d-face-emoji-avatar/id1418685721">Facemoji</a> is trying to make easier to portray online.The idea behind Facemoji isn't an entirely new concept: Personalized avatar creation is the staple for Snapchat's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/bitmoji">Bitmoji</a> and Apple's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/memoji">Memoji</a>. But Facemoji's creators think their platform can stand out by focusing on making users feel as if their Facemoji avatars are true "embodiments" of who they really are - their true, authentic selves."We want to make sure everyone feels represented," Facemoji community manager Faye Maidment told Business Insider. "Your self-image can be whoever. We don't want to put a construct on people's self-image."The bet on self-expression has paid off so far for Facemoji cofounders <a href="https://twitter.com/tomkrcha">Tom Krcha</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/robinraszka">Robin Raszka</a>. The two met through <a href="https://betaworks.com/visioncamp/">Betaworks' Visioncamp accelerator</a>, and joined forces to create what they saw as the future: avatars.Since quietly launching in the App Store last fall, Facemoji has accrued more than 2 million downloads. The app already has financial backing from venture capitalists including General Catalyst, Betaworks, and Product Hunt's Ryan Hoover.The app itself makes it incredibly simple to create completely customizable avatars. You can choose the shape of your faces and eyes, and select ear and face piercings, detailed hairstyles, and accessories ranging from braces to AirPods.&#xa0;But while this type of minute personalization may be possible on rival apps like Bitmoji, Facemoji avatars are more interactive. They employ "expression tracking" like Animoji, which means your avatar will move and react as you do. Facemoji avatars can also be added onto real-life background for images and videos, bringing your personalized avatar a step closer to reality.&#xa0;The way Facemoji is designed makes it simple to share avatars on social media, a shout-out to Facemoji's main userbase: Generation Z, the age group <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/">loosely comprising people born in 1997 or later</a>.Krcha, who is also <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomkrcha/">Facemoji's CEO</a>, says the app is completely "fine-tuned" for Gen Z: Recently, Facemoji removed the choice of gender for your avatar, making character creation "even more fluid," Maidment said. Facemoji also regularly adds pop-culture references in response to demands from its young users: most recently, it added signature hairstyles from Ariana Grande and K-pop's BTS.It's no surprise then that the most internet-heavy generation is turning online for greater self-expression."Everyone has an image of what they think they look like," Krcha told Business Insider. "Who do you really think you are?"<div> </div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/review-1099-iphone-xs-max-google-479-pixel-3a-xl-2019-5">I switched from the $1,099 iPhone XS Max to the $479 Pixel 3a XL - and I didn't miss much</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Facemoji, an app that lets you create your own virtual avatar, has over 2 million downloads by tapping into what makes teens in 2019 different from other generations

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Google acquires AI avatar startup Alter for $100 million

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Facemoji, an app that lets you create your own virtual avatar, has over 2 million downloads by tapping into what makes teens in 2019 different from other generations

Paige Leskin

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