Character.AI Appoints Karandeep Anand, Former Meta VP, as New CEO
Character.AI, the AI chatbot platform backed by Google, has appointed Karandeep Anand, previously VP of Business Products at Meta, as its new CEO, the company announced Friday. Anand, who previously served as a board advisor to Character.AI, steps into this role during a crucial period for the company, as it focuses on expanding its platform while addressing critical child safety concerns.
The appointment comes at a time when Character.AI is actively working to enhance safety features in response to ongoing legal challenges, including a lawsuit that alleges the platform’s involvement in the tragic death of a 14-year-old boy. These efforts underscore the company’s commitment to user safety and responsible AI development.
Anand brings a wealth of experience to Character.AI, having managed advertising products at Meta that served billions of users. His background also includes a role as Head of Product Management at Microsoft, where he oversaw user experience for the Azure cloud platform. Most recently, Anand was the President of fintech startup Brex.
Anand succeeds Noam Shazeer, Character.AI’s co-founder and former CEO, who returned to Google ten months prior. At the time, Google also entered into a non-exclusive agreement to utilize Character.AI’s underlying technology.
The agreement between Character.AI and Google attracted scrutiny from federal regulators due to antitrust concerns. This is part of a larger trend of reverse-acquihire deals in the AI sector facing regulatory examination, similar to Microsoft’s investment in Inflection.AI.
Character.AI has secured over $150 million in venture capital, primarily from Andreessen Horowitz.
In a recent blog post, Anand outlined his initial priorities, which include refining safety filters to be “less overbearing,” acknowledging the importance of user safety while ensuring harmless content is not unnecessarily restricted. He also plans to enhance the quality of AI models, innovate memory features, and promote greater transparency in decision-making, with many of these improvements expected within the next 60 days.
Entertainment-focused chatbots, like those offered by Character.AI, represent a significant growth area within generative AI. Data from Sensor Tower indicates that in 2024, a substantial portion of Character.AI’s user base comprised individuals aged 18 to 24 (66%), with women making up 72% of the user base.
