AI startup Character has decided to abandon its efforts to build AI models following a $2.7 billion deal with Google that resulted in the poaching of its founders and several key staff members, including founder Noam Shazeer. Interim CEO Dominic Perella stated that the company will now focus on developing chatbots, as the competition to build large language models against major tech companies has become prohibitively expensive. The news was first reported by Financial Times, with Cristina Criddle conducting the first interview with Perella.