法庭文件显示，人工智能初创公司 Character.AI 合计欠谷歌和一组大型律师事务所近 700 万美元，这揭示了这款聊天机器人破产背后的财务压力。Character.AI 允许用户创建个性化 AI 机器人，该公司于周一在特拉华州申请第 11 章破产保护，并计划在年底前完成法院监督下的公司出售。这家 AI 平台的破产申请书显示，其欠 20 家最大无担保债权人的金额超过 1060 万美元，其中包括欠谷歌 400 多万美元，以及欠五家知名律师事务所共 260 万美元。
Court filings show that artificial intelligence startup Character.AI owes nearly $7 million in combined amounts to Google and a group of Big Law firms, shedding some light on the financial strain behind the chatbot's bankruptcy. Character.AI, which lets users create personalized AI bots, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Monday and plans to complete a court-supervised sale of the company by the end of the year. The AI platform's bankruptcy petition shows that it owes its 20 largest unsecured creditors more than $10.6 million, including over $4 million to Google and $2.6 million to a group of five prominent law firms.
在律师事务所中，霍根·洛威尔斯（Hogan Lovells）的债权金额最大，约为 210 万美元。怀特凯斯（White & Case）被列为债权约 18.9 万美元，而曼格·托尔斯·奥尔森（Munger, Tolles & Olson）、斯凯登（Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom）和奎因·伊曼纽尔·厄克哈特·沙利文（Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan）分别被列为债权约 13.7 万美元、12.6 万美元和 6.4 万美元。
Hogan Lovells was owed the largest amount among the law firms, at about $2.1 million. White & Case was listed as being owed about $189,000, while the firms Munger, Tolles & Olson; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan were owed roughly $137,000, $126,000, and $64,000, respectively.
谷歌和上述律师事务所的代表未立即回应置评请求。法庭文件未详述债务性质。不过，Character.AI 由前谷歌研究人员创立，于 2023 年指定谷歌云为其首选云基础设施。该初创公司还面临一波诉讼，指控其聊天机器人对年轻用户造成伤害或鼓励有害行为。Character.AI 今年早些时候同意和解多起诉讼。这家 AI 公司的破产文件表明，这些法律麻烦是更广泛财务挤压的一部分。
Representatives for Google and the law firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The court filing does not detail the nature of the debts. However, Character.AI, founded by former Google researchers, named Google Cloud its preferred cloud infrastructure in 2023. The startup has also faced a wave of lawsuits alleging its chatbots harmed or encouraged harmful behavior among young users. Character.AI agreed to settle multiple lawsuits earlier this year. The AI company's bankruptcy filings suggest that those legal troubles were part of a broader financial squeeze.
Character.AI 的破产申请书估计资产价值 5000 万至 1 亿美元，估计负债在同一范围内。“然而，蓬勃发展且不断演变的 AI 娱乐领域，已被证明开发和增长成本高昂，”案件文件中写道。
Character.AI's bankruptcy petition estimated assets worth $50 million to $100 million and estimated liabilities in the same range. "The burgeoning and evolving field of AI entertainment, however, has proven to be costly to develop and grow," a filing in the case reads.
这些高昂成本，加上潜在的诉讼相关负债和监管参与，导致债务人无法产生足够的现金流以支持其目前形式的业务。Character.AI的一位发言人对《商业内幕》表示，过去一年，这家初创公司“在重大的法律、监管和运营压力下，采取了有意义的步骤来维持和改善我们的业务”。
"These high costs, coupled with potential litigation related liabilities and regulatory engagement have contributed to the Debtor's inability to generate sufficient cash flows to support its business in the present form." A Character.AI spokesperson told Business Insider that over the past year, the startup has "taken meaningful steps to sustain and improve our business amid significant legal, regulatory, and operational headwinds."