Character.AI Operator Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Character Technologies, operator of Character.AI, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition on Oct. 12, 2026, listing $50 million to $100 million in assets and liabilities. Founded in late 2021 by former Google engineers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, the companion chatbot service reached 20 million monthly users and unicorn status before the filing.