Inworld AI

Inworld AI is a leading AI engine for games and interactive media, founded in 2021 in Mountain View, California. The company focuses on creating AI-powered non-playable characters (NPCs) that enhance user experiences in gaming and other interactive environments. Using GPT-3 as one of its 20 machine learning models, Inworld builds on foundational AI language models to bring characters to life. These NPCs have personalities, behaviours, goals, and memories, offering more dynamic and engaging gameplay.

Inworld's proprietary technology is designed to power the "brains" of NPCs, giving them the ability to respond intelligently to player actions. This moves beyond traditional, scripted NPC interactions, allowing for real-time adaptability and evolving narratives. Inworld’s products include AI components like voice, text, multilingual support, memory, and cognition tools that help in creating and managing characters. These components are used across various industries, including gaming, media, entertainment, and training.

The company works with major gaming and media firms like Xbox, Ubisoft, and NetEase, as well as independent developers, to integrate AI-driven characters into their games. Inworld also focuses on improving immersion, engagement, and player retention through its AI systems. Players can interact with more intelligent NPCs, which impacts game loops and overall user experience.

In addition to gaming, Inworld’s AI technology is used in training and media production. It offers AI role-play training for sales, customer service, and management, as well as AI-driven characters for media and entertainment. The company supports creative storytelling, interactive environments, and custom AI solutions for various applications.

With support from investors such as Microsoft’s M12, Kleiner Perkins, and Lightspeed Ventures, Inworld AI is well-funded and continues to lead in AI-driven character creation and immersive experiences.

Inworld AI was founded in 2021 by a group of experts in conversational AI and generative models, with the goal of transforming the gaming and media industry by integrating advanced AI technology into these fields. The company, headquartered in Mountain View, California, focuses on using AI to create more interactive, immersive experiences in gaming and entertainment.

Before founding Inworld, its core team had launched API.AI, which became the highest-rated independent voice assistant platform and was later acquired by Google, and rebranded as Dialogflow. This background in conversational AI laid the foundation for Inworld's mission to push the boundaries of AI-driven characters and experiences in interactive media.

From its inception, Inworld AI quickly gained attention by working with leading gaming companies such as Ubisoft, Xbox, NVIDIA, and NetEase Games. These collaborations allowed Inworld AI to apply its technology in real-world gaming environments, developing AI-powered non-playable characters (NPCs) that use reasoning, cognition, and real-time perception. The company’s work with Ubisoft on its NEO NPCs, for instance, introduced deeper, more dynamic interactions between players and game characters, elevating the overall player experience.

Inworld AI continued to grow its reputation by adding partnerships with companies in the broader media and entertainment sectors, including Niantic, Disney, and LG UPlus. The company's solutions began to find applications beyond gaming, particularly in areas like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), where immersive AI-driven characters could significantly enhance user engagement.

To support its innovation, Inworld AI raised over $120 million in multiple funding rounds. Key investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Microsoft’s M12 fund, Intel Capital, BITKRAFT Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins. By 2024, Inworld AI was valued at $500 million, cementing its position as one of the top-funded startups in the AI and gaming space.

The company’s AI solutions are built around a modular approach, offering tools like input models (for perception and cognition), logic engines (for directing AI behaviour), and output models (for voice and animation). These tools are designed to be customisable, enabling game developers to create dynamic, interactive game worlds. In addition to gaming, Inworld AI expanded its focus to media, entertainment, and training, offering solutions that power AI-based role-playing scenarios, training tools, and more.

In recent years, the company added multilingual support for Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean, expanding its reach in the global gaming market. This development was followed by collaborations with Niantic and other companies to explore new ways to incorporate AI-driven storytelling and character development into games.

In 2024, Inworld AI remains focused on pushing the frontiers of AI in interactive media, with ongoing projects involving AI-driven gameplay mechanics, real-time experience adaptation, and training systems powered by AI role-play. The company continues to attract major partnerships, reinforcing its standing as a leading innovator in the AI space for gaming and beyond.

Inworld AI’s mission is to transform interactive media and gaming by integrating advanced artificial intelligence into these fields. The company aims to enhance player experiences by developing AI-driven tools that create immersive, responsive, and dynamic game environments. By offering modular AI components, Inworld enables developers to build games where non-playable characters (NPCs) and virtual worlds adapt intelligently to player actions. In addition to gaming, Inworld AI extends its AI solutions to media, entertainment, and training sectors, aiming to revolutionise how stories are told and how people engage with digital experiences across different platforms.

Inworld AI envisions a future where artificial intelligence fundamentally transforms the way people interact with digital worlds. The company strives to push the boundaries of creativity by enabling AI to play a central role in crafting dynamic, interactive experiences across games, media, and beyond. Inworld AI aims to be a leading provider of AI-driven solutions that power immersive storytelling, autonomous character behaviour, and real-time adaptation, ensuring that digital experiences are more engaging and personalised. The company seeks to remain at the forefront of AI innovation, helping shape the future of gaming, entertainment, and virtual interaction.

Inworld AI specialises in providing a suite of artificial intelligence tools and components designed to enhance game development and interactive media experiences. The company offers a wide range of products that enable developers to integrate advanced AI into their games, creating more immersive, responsive, and dynamic gameplay. Below is a detailed overview of their key products and services:

AI Components
Inworld AI provides a flexible suite of AI components that can be assembled to suit various gaming and interactive media needs. These components are divided into three main categories:

• Input Models: These models analyse and understand player behaviour and game states. They collect data continuously through various streams, enabling AI characters to respond interactively. Key input models include perception and cognition models that help recognise player actions, intentions, emotions, and entities within the game.
• Logic Engines: Inworld’s AI logic engines orchestrate how AI characters behave and interact with players. This includes directors and planners that set high-level goals and manage character actions in real time. Some of the main systems include the Multi-Agent Director, which manages multiple AI characters interacting with the player, and the Narrative Director, which helps develop coherent storylines that adapt to player choices.
• Output Models: These models control how the AI presents information and interacts with players. The output models generate AI-driven content, including text, voice, and animations. They enable dynamic, real-time conversations and interactions with players, making NPCs more lifelike. The models can also generate 2D and 3D shapes for objects and environments within the game.

Voice Studio
Inworld AI offers a Voice Studio that helps developers create realistic, expressive voices for their AI-driven characters. The text-to-speech (TTS) system allows developers to generate dynamic voice performances, including varied tones, emotions, and accents. The studio supports multilingual voices, making it possible to localise games for different regions, including languages like Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. The Voice Studio also ensures low-latency, high-fidelity audio for a seamless and immersive gaming experience.

AI NPCs
One of Inworld’s flagship services is its AI-driven Non-Playable Characters (NPCs), which offer more complex behaviours than traditional NPCs. These AI NPCs can reason, interact, and adapt to the player’s actions in real time. With features like autonomous companions, intelligent crowds, and dynamic environments, AI NPCs help create a more engaging game world. Inworld’s NPCs are powered by AI models that allow them to hold conversations, understand the game environment, and even generate real-time narratives based on player actions.

AI for Narrative and Storytelling
Inworld AI provides tools to help developers build dynamic and adaptive stories. Their Narrative Graph and Scriptwriter tools enable developers to create branching storylines that adapt to players’ choices, ensuring a personalised experience. These tools also support multilingual narratives, allowing for culturally relevant storytelling across different languages and regions.

Generative Tools
Inworld’s Generative Tools streamline game development by creating AI-generated assets such as text, voice, shapes, and animations. Developers can use these tools to generate content at scale, saving time and resources during the game design process. These tools allow developers to quickly create AI-powered characters and environments, boosting productivity and enabling faster game iterations.

AI for Training and Role Play
Inworld AI also extends its services to training and development. Organisations can use Inworld’s AI to create realistic role-playing scenarios for employee training. These scenarios can be customised for various roles, such as sales or customer service training, helping employees practise real-life interactions and improve their performance.

Custom AI Solutions
Inworld provides Custom AI Solutions for enterprise clients, helping them design AI infrastructures that suit their unique needs. The company offers production deployment, volume discounts, and premium support to clients who require more specialised AI development for their games or media projects.