Google DeepMind bets $75M on AI’s future in Hollywood with A24 deal

A new alliance has formed between a Hollywood studio and a tech juggernaut. 

On Monday, Google DeepMind announced a $75 million investment (per the WSJ) into popular indie film studio A24, known for hits like “Marty Supreme,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and the latest blockbuster “Backrooms.” Google DeepMind is billing the investment as a partnership, a “first-of-its-kind” that will see the two companies create AI tools for filmmaking, with Google DeepMind receiving “feedback and guidance from leading artists.” A24 has recently worked with big names like Timothée Chalamet and Anne Hathaway on several projects. 

“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 in a press release. “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.” 

Though controversy has swirled around Hollywood over the use of AI in movies, A24 would be far from the first studio to explore integrating AI into the creative process. Netflix announced earlier this year that it was buying Ben Affleck’s company, InterPositive, which creates AI tools for filmmakers. Last year, meanwhile, Amazon’s MGM Studios launched an AI unit focused on developing tools for television and movie production.