Kaon AI, a start-up focused on building personalized story worlds powered by generative AI for its users through its products FlowGPT and Emochi, has raised $60 million in its most recent funding round at a valuation in the several hundreds of millions.
Investors included B Capital, Redpoint Ace, Goodwater Capital and DCM. The Berkeley, California-based company — led by CEO Jay Dang, chief technology officer Alex Xi and chief operating officer Lifan Wang — is eager to create interactive experiences for users, eager to let them generate stories around their “intent, emotion and creative direction,” Wang said in an email. The move marks an apparent shift from its past work with FlowGPT, which it envisioned as an “app store” for generative AI models.
Emochi is Kaon AI’s flagship consumer product for interactive experiences. Wang said Kaon was focused on building a “customization engine for AI-native entertainment,” where users work with AI models to build out characters, settings and settings. The company’s model then engages with what the user lays out, responding to how they’re feeling or the story they’re trying to create, a distinction from competitors such as Character.ai that Wang said are too focused on simulating individuals.
