Google DeepMind strikes AI research deal with A24

Google is reportedly investing around $75m in A24 as part of the partnership, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

It is the first time YouTube owner Google has taken a stake in a studio.

The collaboration pairs leading AI research lab DeepMind with the studio behind box office hits such as Marty Supreme and Backrooms. 

In a blog post, Deep Mind said the partnership would help artists develop new workflows and techniques and would span multiple projects, ensuring that “the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them.”

It said that A24 and Google DeepMind’s researchers would work “side-by-side to test, iterate and build” and to “expand what is possible in the future of entertainment.”

The deal comes as Hollywood increasingly embraces AI to help speed creative processes and reduce costs.

Earlier this month, US studio Lionsgate took an undisclosed equity stake in generative AI company Runway.

Netflix announced earlier this year that it was buying Ben Affleck’s company, InterPositive, which creates AI tools for filmmakers. Last year, Amazon’s MGM Studios launched an AI unit focused on developing tools for television and movie production. 

“We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them,” Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind Co-Founder and CEO, said. “By collaborating with filmmakers and industry leaders like A24 from the beginning, we can build new AI features to support artists in authentic, meaningful storytelling that helps enable their creative vision.”