Google purchases AI startup Alter for $100 million

Search giant Google has acquired AI avatar start-up Alter for $100 million in a bid to compete with short-form video platform TikTok.

Google confirmed the purchase to publication TechCrunch but did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Sources close to the publication said Google completed the acquisition "for about $100 million" and the silent takeover was completed two months ago.

Both companies have not yet publicly commented on the acquisition. Alter is an artificial intelligence avatar startup, which creates digital characters powered by AI that can live in a virtual setting.

The company started life as Facemoji, which offered developers plug-and-play tech to put digital avatars in their products. It later rebranded to Alter.

Sources told TechCrunch that Google made the acquisition to better compete with TikTok but did not share the details.

In India, Google has paused its in-app Play Store billing system in response to a decision by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

On October 25, CCI directed the tech giant not to restrict app developers from using any third-party billing or payment processing services to purchase apps or for in-app billing on Google Play apart from a series of measures to modify the company's app payment policies that requires compliance within three months.

"Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to use Google Play's billing system for the purchase of digital goods and services for transactions by users in India while we review our legal options and ensure we can continue to invest in Android and Play" the company said in a support page.