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, which uses generative AI to help developers create smart characters that can learn and perform their own actions, closed a fresh round of funding at a $500 million valuation.

While the round has not completely closed 鈥� that is expected later this month 鈥� the company said it will total $50 million-plus. The聽rounds聽includes some big investor names 鈥� , , , , and other existing investors.

Inworld has now raised more than $100 million since being founded in 2021, per the company.聽

The Mountain View, California-based startup sits at the intersection of AI and gaming. It has developed a 鈥淐haracter Engine鈥� to create non-playable characters for gaming and other interactive experiences using multiple machine-learning models.

Developers can use the platform to create characters that can learn and adapt, have memories and motivations, and even navigate relationships.

鈥淭he financial runway means we can take a long-term view when it comes to supporting the developer community today, and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving landscape of generative AI for tomorrow,鈥� said co-founder and CEO in a .

Gaming funding slows

While Inworld鈥檚 platform can be applied to different use cases, there is no denying how it can be used in gaming 鈥� which has seen limited VC interest this year, according to 附近上门 .

Funding to U.S.-based gaming startups hit a high in 2021 鈥� like many other industries 鈥� topping more than $5 billion.

Last year, such startups saw about $3.8 billion invested, although $2 billion of that went to in a massive round.

However, with more than half of 2023 gone, U.S.-based gaming startups have received just more than $400 million to date.

It鈥檚 likely AI鈥檚 applications to gaming will spur on more investment, but the industry has a long way to go to even come close to last year鈥檚 funding numbers.

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Clarification: The amount of money raised was updated from the original publication of this story.聽

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