Character.AI, a chatbot startup, has reportedly laid off at least 5% of its workforce, according to a report by The Information on Thursday, which cited an individual familiar with the company's leadership.

The layoffs primarily affected employees in marketing and recruitment roles, as indicated by the report.

A spokesperson for Character.AI informed Reuters, "We are realigning the company to ensure that all positions are in line with our new strategy to develop personalized AI products."

The spokesperson added that this decision resulted in a minor reduction in staff, although specific numbers regarding the layoffs were not disclosed.

Earlier this month, Character.AI entered into an agreement with Alphabet's Google, which provides the tech giant with a non-exclusive license to the startup's large language model technology.

As part of this arrangement, Character.AI is set to receive additional funding from Google, although the exact amount has not been revealed, according to a blog post from the startup.

Previously, Character.AI secured $193 million in venture capital from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, and was reportedly in discussions to raise hundreds of millions from Google, as reported by Reuters in November.