diff --git a/.changeset/hip-suns-fix.md b/.changeset/hip-suns-fix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4555c7b179
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/hip-suns-fix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/core-components': patch
+---
+
+update the null check to use the optional chaining operator in case of non-null assertion operator is not working in function extractInitials(values: string)
diff --git a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
index 98ce01664a..d8310f18c0 100644
--- a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
@@ -28,5 +28,5 @@ export function stringToColor(str: string) {
 }
 
 export function extractInitials(value: string) {
-  return value.match(/\b\w/g)!.join('').substring(0, 2);
+  return value.match(/\b\w/g)?.join('').substring(0, 2);
 }