Google DeepMind invests $75M in A24 to develop AI filmmaking tools amid industry controversy

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.

A24 Knows You're Mad About the Google AI Collab

Backrooms, the recent horror movie mega-hit, is a film replete with ideas about repetition and degradation. Its central theme -- the horror of a world that seems to be mindlessly, monstrously, ripping off our own -- was regarded in some circles as a critique of generative AI. The idea has clearly struck a nerve. Recently passing $300 million at the global box office, Backrooms has become the biggest hit yet for its buzzy boutique producer and distributor, the New York company A24. On the back of this box office coup, it's a bit funny that A24 would recently announce a $75 million research partnership with DeepMind, Google's in-house artificial intelligence lab. As the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, the tech giant is teaming up with A24 to create new filmmaking "tools," as part of A24's technology startup, A24 Labs, overseen by cofounder Scott Belsky. "This is a research partnership," Sophia Shin, who handles communications at A24, tells WIRED in an email. "We're working side-by-side with DeepMind's researchers to learn, iterate, and build having an active hand in shaping new tools and workflows." It's the latest in a line of uneasy, controversial marriages between Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Late last year, Disney took a $1 billion stake in OpenAI's video generation model, Sora, licensing access to characters like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and C-3PO. A few months later, Sora itself was kaput. AI's threat to cinema, and the creative arts more generally, can feel completely existential: automating (and killing) entry-level jobs, threatening writers' rooms, and squatting in multiplexes to showcase AI-generated work that runs the gamut from the boring to the abominable. Some studios have sued AI companies for copyright infringement. There are also growing concerns that AI's capture of the film business has a chilling effect, as in the recent case of studios distancing themselves from Luca Guadagnino's biopic of OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Artificial. The announcement of the A24 AI partnership was especially puzzling, and contentious, precisely because of A24's place in contemporary film culture. A24's legion of diehards do not seem to be taking the news of the A24's latest collab especially well. Earlier this week, A24 released the trailer for Jesse Eisenberg's new musical drama The Debut. On X, comments under the trailer were littered with criticism lobbed at A24, from fans posting tombstones and declaring the death of the company, to promises of illegally pirating the movie (to eat into A24's profits), to snarky remarks like: "Pretty ironic that The Debut is the film that comes out in the mids [sic] of a24 ending itself with ai." (Your definition of "irony" may vary.) "Our relationship with our audience is something we don't take for granted," A24's Shin stresses. "This partnership exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, and so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. We'd rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines." Google DeepMind did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cool Factor A24 is a huge tastemaker in the film space. "In the same way Disney sells nostalgia, A24 has sold the feeling of being very hip, and cutting-edge, for as long as they've been around," says film critic Esther Rosenfield. Before Backrooms, A24 spearheaded canonical American indie films like The Witch, Moonlight, Midsommar, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and the recent Marty Supreme. The studio has launched, and supported, the work and careers of serious filmmakers like Sophia Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Ari Aster, Jane Schoenbrun, Celine Song, and the brothers Safdie. It has netted dozens of Academy Award nominations since its 2012 founding. The distinctive A24 logo before a film trailer is, in a moviegoing culture otherwise dominated by tedious franchise IP blockbusters, often enough to build hype for a new release. It is also the rare American entertainment company to have its own loyal groupies, who flex their own cinephilic bona fides with A24 caps, tote bags, and collectable, limited edition tie-dye t-shirts. You don't really hear about "Paramount fans" of "Touchstone Pictures-heads." But A24 has, as they say, shooters. "They have a very powerful and successful marketing department," says Andrew DeWaard, a media studies professor at UC San Diego and author of 2024 book Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture. "They've branded their company as edgy, forward-thinking, and appealing to young people. They've created a fandom for their company." But for a scholar like DeWaard, the DeepMind deal is not some major, sacrilegious break in A24's business practices. In Derivative Media, he notes that A24's cofounder, Daniel Katz, previously led film financing at Guggenheim Partners, the global firm heavily invested in environmentally ruinous resource extraction. In 2024, the company received a significant cash injection from Thrive Capital, which has also invested heavily in OpenAI. A24 Labs head Scott Belsky, who's at the center of the DeepMind deal, was among the recently leaked names linked to Silicon Valley financier Peter Thiel's invite-only club, Dialog. Taste Test The company's seat-at-the-table rationale has a familiar ring. The AI takeover of cinema is routinely pitched -- by stakeholders in AI firms, incidentally -- as fated. It's not a matter of if, but when. To rail against it, the argument goes, would be as futile as a man on Wednesday railing against Thursday. "They want to make AI feel inevitable," DeWaard says of AI firms like Google. "They want to make AI feel like it's everywhere. They want it to feel normal. Culture is part of that." Rosenfield regards the deal as a form of positive PR, at least on the part of Google. "They're saying, 'We want to launder our reputation through you,'" she says. "We want to make it look like serious artists are going to be making things with these tools. Because serious artists, by and large, aren't." (Asked if the Google deal was a form of reputation laundering, A24 offered no comment.) Among its other concerns, AI definitely suffers from a deficit of taste. Generative AI images are regularly -- and accurately -- described with the sticky epithet "slop." Because generative AI clients and large language models are not human, they cannot judge, or discern good and bad, ugly or beautiful, cool or boring. And of late, it's precisely this more subtle, sophisticated, definitionally human element that technologists seem desperate to replicate, whether it be by hosting AI-"curated" art exhibitions in San Francisco galleries, or by simply partnering with creative companies whose brand is synonymous with taste. Call it taste-leeching. Elsewhere, a new AI startup, literally called Taste Labs, recently secured $18.5 million in funding for its goal to "eliminate slop" and invest in AI clients with their own tastemaking sensibilities. Good luck with that. A24's Shin insists upon the point that this research partnership is not some sort of franchising, or IP play. DeepMind users won't be able to pay to generate their own little movies featuring copyrighted A24 characters like Howie Rainer from Uncut Gems, The Green Knight, Charles Swan III, or the little lamb from Lamb. "Truth is we don't necessarily love any of the current AI outputs on screen in Hollywood," she says. "I don't even know if ultimately we'd create tech on that front. This partnership is about learning and helping pain points in workflows behind the scenes more than anything else."

Google DeepMind Partners With Hollywood Indie Darling A24 to Develop AI Filmmaking Tools

Expertise Video gaming, computer hardware, laptops, home energy, home internet A24 is the independent studio largely responsible for making modern arthouse movies mainstream, with recent hits like Marty Supreme and Backrooms shaping cultural conversations. Now the cult film production company is partnering with Google's AI-focused DeepMind team to develop AI tools for its filmmakers, according to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the deal, Google is investing $75 million into A24's 20-person Labs team to create new tools for movie production and distribution. These tools will be available to A24 creators, but they'll also funnel back into Google's AI ecosystem. Google previously partnered with Darren Aronofsky, a firm believer in using generative AI in filmmaking, and the director of movies like Black Swan and The Whale. But this is the first time the company has staked money in a Hollywood studio. The search giant currently owns the massive video hosting website, YouTube, and one of the most widely available AI video generation tools, Veo. DeepMind's investment in A24 represents an expansion of its research scope, which has recently expanded into video games as well. The deal between the studio and the tech giant doesn't allow Google to train AI models on A24's catalog of television shows and movies. Instead, A24 Labs is currently developing an application to produce AI-generated storyboards, the rough draft art created before a movie's visuals are fully fleshed out. When asked for comment, a representative of the DeepMind team pointed CNET toward Google's official blog post about the partnership. According to that post, Google's "specific goals, technical outputs and creative milestones of this initiative will evolve over time," indicating that the scope of this partnership may change as A24 and DeepMind foster a "deep research and development collaboration... spanning multiple projects over time." A representative for A24 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AI tools in cinema The A24 Labs team responsible for creating the new AI tools is headed by Scott Belsky, who left Adobe's executive team for his new role in January 2025. According to the Wall Street Journal, Belsky believes that audience and director pushback against AI tools hinges on public perception that generative AI is used to make movies cheaper and faster. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," Belsky told the Wall Street Journal. He argued that A24's AI usage "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." While it's true that actors and directors have by and large rallied against introducing generative AI into the filmmaking process, Hollywood studios have a far more hot-and-cold relationship with the burgeoning industry. Some producers have threatened legal action against AI giants for alleged copyright violations, while others, such as Disney, have attempted to cut ill-fated deals with companies like OpenAI. A24's unconventional storytelling A24 was founded in 2012 by three film production veterans with a mission to release movies other companies wouldn't touch. Some of the company's earliest productions, including Oscar Award-winning pictures Moonlight and Lady Bird, have become cult classics, championed for their portrayal of coming-of-age stories and for featuring characters from marginalized communities that are typically underrepresented in Hollywood films. While the production company has long been renowned among cinephiles, it arguably became a household name in 2022 with the release of Everything Everywhere All at Once, its first film to surpass $100 million in box-office earnings. A24's more recent films have consistently scored critical and financial accolades. Backrooms became the largest original horror movie debut in history, and has raked in more than $270 million at the box office during its theatrical release. A24's upcoming Elden Ring movie, directed by Alex Garland and adapted from the popular FromSoftware video game, is slated to be the company's biggest production yet, commanding a $175 million budget. The DeepMind deal is representative of the cultural clash at the heart of A24's business model: While the production company elevates independent talent, first-time directors and scripts that other studios might not be willing to take a chance on, it's still a business worth up to $3.5 billion that's beholden to investors. It's unclear how the Google AI deal may yet affect A24's sterling public reputation, but it's very unlikely that the audience of theatergoers that shows up time and time again to support independent projects will be happy with the news.

Google invests in A24 to build AI movie tools

Google's DeepMind AI lab is teaming up with A24 to develop new movie production technologies that aim to help future filmmakers "expand their storytelling possibilities." As part of this new research and development collaboration, The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is investing "around $75 million" into A24, marking the first time the search giant has taken a stake in a film studio. "The collaboration pairs a world-leading research lab with the industry's most filmmaker-forward studio to help artists develop new workflows and techniques," Google said in its announcement blog. "This ensures the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them." The partnership is expected to span across "multiple projects over time" according to Google, though the announcement doesn't mention any specific movies that Google will be involved with. WSJ reports that Google and A24 are aiming to create new tools for movie production and distribution, something that Google alluded to in its own announcement, saying the "initial focus is on bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and next generation entertainment." The multiyear deal is non-exclusive, according to WSJ, and doesn't allow Google to access A24's film and television library data. Still, the partnership is likely to raise some eyebrows in the film industry, given that Google's AI models are trained on publicly available internet data, and how ferociously other movie studios like Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros have fought AI companies for alleged copyright violations. WSJ also reports that Google and A24 are hoping to include the movie studio's existing roster of artists in the deal, such as YouTube creator and Backrooms director, Kane Parsons. In an interview with The Australian earlier this month, Parsons said that "generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot," and that he gets "no enjoyment" out of using the technology on any project. According to Scott Belsky -- an A24 partner who was previously Adobe's chief strategy officer -- the tools that Google and A24 are developing "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." In his statement to WSJ, Belsky said "there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking."

A24 takes on Google money help build AI tools - Engadget

A24 takes on Google money help build AI tools One imagines Kane Parsons is less than pleased. Google is investing $75 million in the film studio A24 and the companies are teaming up to develop, wait for it, AI tools. Google says the "partnership aims to expand what is possible in the future of entertainment." The multiyear deal doesn't give Google access to A24's library of film and television, so we won't have to suffer through a sloppified sequel to Marty Supreme just yet. Instead, the companies will develop tools that assist with various aspects of filmmaking. A representative from A24 told The Wall Street Journal that the tools "won't look anything like the prompted generative type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." Instead, the first application will be something that uses AI to generate storyboards. The companies hope to eventually get these tools in the hands of A24's stable of filmmakers. "We believe breakthroughs happen when you get technology into the hands of the best minds in the field," said Eli Collins, a vice president of product for DeepMind. As an aside, there are at least 2,000 working storyboard artists in the Hollywood system who probably would like to continue engaging in their trade. A24 has a reputation as a studio for emerging filmmakers that resonate with young audiences. These people tend to dislike AI. Kane Parsons, who directed Backrooms -- the studio's highest-grossing film by a wide margin -- has called the technology "genuinely harmful" and a signifier of "cultural and economic rot." This could fly under the radar, as the forthcoming tech is being pitched as assistive in nature and not a replacement for filmmakers. This approach reminds me of Ben Affleck's AI startup, which was recently acquired by Netflix. That team is building a suite of tools that help with post-production stuff, like color-mixing and relighting. As another certainly unrelated aside, there are around 400 colorists in the Hollywood system and roughly 2,800 active union members working as professional set lighting technicians and operators. Just a fact worth knowing about showbiz! This has been an absolute bang-up year for A24. Backrooms made over $300 million, making it the company's most successful film ever. Marty Supreme made nearly $200 million and nabbed a bunch of Oscar nominations. A24's revenue has more than doubled in the past two years and the company was recently valued at $3.5 billion.

Google invests $75 million in A24 as DeepMind launches AI filmmaking research partnership

Google is investing $75M in A24 and launching a DeepMind research partnership to build AI filmmaking tools shaped by working directors. Google is investing roughly $75 million in A24, the independent studio behind recent hits including Backrooms and Obsession, as part of a new AI research partnership between the studio and Google DeepMind. The deal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, marks Google's first equity stake in a film studio. The partnership gives A24 filmmakers hands-on access to DeepMind's research infrastructure, while DeepMind gets real-time feedback from working directors as it builds new creative tools. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said the goal is to develop tools that empower artists by working with them from day one rather than building in isolation. Crucially, the deal does not give Google access to A24's existing film and television library or its content data. The partnership is structured as a multiyear, nonexclusive research agreement, meaning A24 is not locked into using only Google's tools and Google cannot train models on the studio's catalogue. One early project already under way at A24 Labs involves using AI to generate storyboards, the rough visual sketches directors use to plan scenes before cameras roll. Scott Belsky, an A24 partner who leads the studio's technology division, told the Journal that the partnership differs from other Hollywood AI deals because most AI developers mistakenly pitch their products as a way to make films cheaper and faster rather than better. The investment arrives as Hollywood's relationship with AI is shifting rapidly. Netflix acquired Ben Affleck's stealth AI filmmaking startup InterPositive in March, gaining exclusive post-production tools trained on real footage. Netflix has since established INKubator, an internal AI-native animation studio staffed with producers and engineers. Martin Scorsese joined AI image startup Black Forest Labs as an adviser in June, using its FLUX model to storyboard scenes for his next film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. OpenAI is backing Critterz, an AI-assisted animated feature with a budget under $30 million that was shown at Cannes, produced on a nine-month timeline that would typically take years in traditional animation. A24 brings a distinctive position to the AI conversation. The studio has built one of the most recognisable brands in independent film over the past decade, and survey data cited by multiple outlets shows more than half of moviegoers identify as fans of the studio itself rather than just individual titles. It is also preparing its most ambitious production yet, an Elden Ring adaptation directed by Alex Garland with a budget that multiple sources place well above $100 million. The deal also lands days after Amazon dropped its nearly finished Sam Altman biopic, reportedly because the film portrayed its $50 billion OpenAI investment partner unfavourably. That episode illustrated how financial ties between tech companies and studios can create editorial conflicts, a dynamic the Google-A24 partnership will need to navigate as the tools it produces become part of actual productions. For Google, the $75 million is modest relative to its broader AI spending, which Alphabet has guided at $175 billion to $185 billion in capital expenditure for 2026. But the strategic value lies in positioning DeepMind as the AI partner that filmmakers choose rather than resist, a framing that matters as the industry's labour negotiations over AI use continue.

Indie Darling A24 Takes $75 million From Google for 'AI Research'

A24 has apparently decided that just distributing the film Ex Machina isn't enough -- it needs to make it real. The film production and distribution darling has entered an agreement with Google that will see the tech giant pour $75 million into the studio as part of what is being positioned as an artificial intelligence research partnership. What does that mean? It seems, per Google's press release, that A24 will gain access to Google DeepMind's lab and the brains within to hit a bunch of buzzwords. "The partnership represents the beginning of a collaborative journey, one rooted in research and shared curiosity. While the initial focus is on bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and next generation entertainment, the specific goals, technical outputs and creative milestones of this initiative will evolve over time," Google said. Variety reported something slightly more specific, at least, stating that Google's team will work with A24 to build out new workflows. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, A24 partner Scott Belsky said that, unlike other Hollywood studios that have gotten into bed with AI companies, this agreement won't be focused on pitching ways that AI can be used in the filmmaking process. Instead, it'll focus on injecting the technology into the production process, not unlike Martin Scorsese's recent endorsement of the use of AI for storyboarding (which, it's worth remembering, is a creative field that employs people who will likely be pushed out by this technology). A24 partner Scott Belsky offered a bit more detail in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Unlike other Hollywood studios that have partnered with AI companies, he said, A24 is not looking for ways to use AI to make films themselves. Instead, the agreement will focus on incorporating the technology into production workflows -- similar to Martin Scorsese's recent endorsement of AI-assisted storyboarding (which, it's worth remembering, is a creative field that employs people who might be pushed out of the industry by this technology. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," he told the Journal, arguing the new tools "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." Importantly, Google reportedly will not get access to A24's content library or data, so you probably won't be able to use Google's Nano Banana image generation tool to create your own version of "Backrooms" (well, at least not officially -- we know copyrighted material has a habit of finding its way into the training data of these models). That's a small consolation for the fact that A24, one of the few studios in Hollywood primarily focused on original voices and ideas, has found itself in the pocket of Big Tech venture capitalists. Back in 2024, the studio took a hefty investment from Thrive Capital, which was founded by Donald Trump's favorite son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It's all just a very good reminder that films cost money to make, and most of the people with the money suck.

Google DeepMind and A24 team up on AI tools for filmmakers -- what does this mean for movies?

At least one movie producer is putting aside quarrels with AI giants. Google DeepMind has forged a partnership with indie movie studio A24 to help artists develop AI "workflows and techniques." The alliance will see the two companies collaborate on research and development across numerous projects. A24 and filmmakers will help create technology that "expand[s] their storytelling possibilities," according to the companies. Google DeepMind, in turn, hopes for "invaluable feedback and guidance" from artists. Everything Everywhere All at Once R Action Adventure Science Fiction Release Date March 24, 2022 Runtime 140 minutes Director Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan Powered by Expand Collapse Google adds that it has "made an investment" in A24 but hasn't shared more. The Wall Street Journal sources claim the funding is worth about $75 million. How-To Geek has asked for details and will update the story if the company can share more. Google DeepMind CEO Denis Hassabis said in a statement that his firm believes the AI team-up will back artists producing "authentic, meaningful storytelling that helps enable their creative vision." What will Google DeepMind and A24 do for movies? Expect AI to slip into more indie movies The Google DeepMind partnership doesn't mean that A24 movies will turn into AI slop. The industry has routinely fought against what it sees as abuses of AI, including copyright violations in generated material as well as attempts to replace human talent with digital counterparts. The move theoretically helps A24 make better use of AI while limiting its dangers. While the companies aren't saying what their projects involve, it could lead to AI-generated audio and video (such as transitional scenes) and more automation in movie production. Filmmakers might accomplish more with tight budgets. A24's Undertone is the scariest movie of 2026 -- find out what inspired the director's horror film Ian Tuason talks to HTG about his feature film debut. Posts By Dan Girolamo Google DeepMind has clear commercial interests. The collaboration could make it a staple of movie production at A24 and potentially convince other studios to follow suit. That could theoretically squeeze out both AI heavyweights like Anthropic and OpenAI as well as video-specific brands like Kling AI, Luma AI, and Runway. Some of these competitors are already working with Hollywood, such as Runway's deal to train AI on Lionsgate movies. Deals Save on AI tools and creative software deals today Explore discounts on AI subscriptions, creative software, cloud rendering credits, and filmmaking plugins to stretch budgets and speed production. Browse top deals to save on tools, services, and accessories that support modern media workflows. Deals Explore Software, AI & Subscriptions Deals If Google doesn't get involved, it risks losing a foothold in the creative space even as it develops advanced generative models like Gemini Omni. The pact could ensure that technological progress pays off, particularly given A24's reputation for award-winning movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Brutalist.

A24 Fans in Meltdown After It Enters AI Partnership With Google

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech A24 has spent years carefully crafting its image as a canny underdog studio that platforms artist driven films. It commands incredible loyalty among moviegoers, with its brand often preceding the names of the actual talent involved in its production. A new movie is an A24 movie, director or lead actor be damned. But with incredible loyalty also comes incredible disappointment. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google is investing $75 million into A24, as part of an AI research partnership to create AI tools for moviemaking. Needless to say, fans of the studio weren't impressed. "There goes A24," eulogized one viral tweet. "Why do they keep forcing AI on us," lamented another. Though the size of the investment isn't enormous by the standards of the tech industry, the partnership is symbolically significant, marking one of the few collaborations between a mainstream studio and an AI firm. Disney entered a landmark partnership with OpenAI last year, but that ended ignominiously when OpenAI suddenly shut down its Sora video generator tool in March. According to the WSJ's reporting, the collaboration with Google's DeepMind AI lab will help create "new tools for movie production and distribution." It doesn't give Google access to A24's data, including its film library. Scott Belsky, an A24 partner, acknowledged that filmmakers' ambivalence towards AI tech. That's just because no one is doing AI the correct and artistic way, of course. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," Belsky told the WSJ. The new tools "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with," he added/ Except maybe they will be. Belsky's 20 person team, A24 Labs, is already developing a tool for AI-generated storyboards. Revered director Martin Scorsese recently endorsed an AI startup that provided storyboarding tools, precipitating an existential crisis among cineastes. Following news of the deal, A24 fans haven't hesitated to point out that Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old who directed A24's most successful film to date with "Backrooms," had recently fulminated at AI being used in the arts. Many view his hit horror film -- now A24's largest opening ever -- as an allegory for AI. "If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would," Parsons said in an interview. "Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me." "To me," he added, "generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot."

Google is diving into the film world with millions of dollars, and yes, AI is involved

Google is investing roughly $75 million in A24, the studio behind the latest hits like Backrooms and Obsession, according to the Wall Street Journal. The investment comes attached to a new AI research partnership between A24 and Google DeepMind, Google's artificial intelligence research lab. What this means for A24's films going forward According to Google DeepMind, the goal is to pair a leading AI research lab with the most filmmaker friendly studio in the business, and let the artists shape the technology instead of the other way around. Recommended Videos A24 filmmakers get hands-on access to DeepMind's research and infrastructure, while DeepMind gets real feedback from working directors as they build new tools together. DeepMind cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis says the best way to build tools that actually empower artists is to work with them directly from day one. Importantly, the deal does not give Google access to A24's existing film and television library or its data, so your favorite A24 titles stay exactly where they are. Why Google picked A24 specifically A24 has spent the last decade building a brand people genuinely love, with survey data showing more than half of moviegoers count themselves fans of the studio itself, not just individual movies. Right now, A24 is also gearing up for its biggest swing yet, a roughly $175 million Elden Ring adaptation directed by Alex Garland. This deal also lands amid a broader wave of studios warming up to AI. Martin Scorsese recently joined AI startup Black Forest Labs as an adviser, using its tools to storyboard on an upcoming project. Meanwhile, Netflix quietly built its own AI animation studio, INKubator, to crank out AI-generated shorts and specials. And OpenAI went even further, backing an AI-assisted animated feature called Critterz that's heading straight for the Cannes, made on a $30 million budget using OpenAI's own tools from start to finish. Whatever comes out of the A24 deal, one thing is clear that even the coolest indie studios are now AI's newest playground.

The Studio Behind 'Ex Machina' Is Now Researching AI With Google

The deal comes as Hollywood continues debating the role of generative AI in filmmaking. Google is investing approximately $75 million in independent film studio A24 as part of a new artificial intelligence research joint initiative, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google's DeepMind division and A24 will collaborate on tools for film production and distribution, marking the first time Google has taken a stake in a movie studio. While the agreement reportedly does not give Google access to A24's film and television library, the deal brings together one of the world's largest AI developers with the studio known for films including "Ex Machina," Alex Garland's 2014 thriller about the dangers of artificial intelligence, as well as the recent breakout hit "Backrooms." A24 partner Scott Belsky attempted to ease concerns that Google's deal with the studio would lead to the kind of generative AI tools that many filmmakers have criticized, telling the Journal that the companies are focused on tools that preserve creative control and support filmmakers. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," Belsky told the Wall Street Journal, adding, "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." The news comes as Google has expanded its outreach to filmmakers. In January 2026, the company committed $2 million to AI training programs for artists through the Sundance Institute and other filmmaking organizations. In April, Google unveiled Maps Imagery Grounding, a new AI-powered tool that lets filmmakers and creative agencies generate images and animated scenes based on real-world locations using Google Street View data. As part of the deal, A24 and Google plan to develop tools for film production and distribution. A24's existing technology and innovation division, A24 Labs, is already developing an AI-assisted storyboarding tool designed to help filmmakers identify potential production issues before filming begins. "We believe breakthroughs happen when you get technology into the hands of the best minds in the field," Eli Collins, a vice president of product for DeepMind, said. The deal comes as Hollywood continues to debate AI's role in filmmaking following months-long strikes by SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America in 2023. In December 2025, industry figures, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natasha Lyonne, launched the Creators Coalition on AI to push for standards governing AI training and use. Earlier this month, "Backrooms" director Kane Parsons criticized generative AI, calling it a source of "genuinely harmful consequences" and part of a broader "cultural and economic rot." "If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would," Parsons told The Australian.

A24 Fans Mourn Its Death Following $75 Million Google AI Deal

A24's 'artificial-intelligence research partnership' with Google DeepMind has, unsurprisingly, pissed off the studio's entire fanbase A24, the "independent" film production studio behind the likes of Backrooms, Uncut Gems, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Hereditary, has signed an "artificial-intelligence research partnership" deal with Google. Shockingly, the same fans who love the studio's arthouse and cult films aren't too happy about this, with many announcing that they'll be cancelling their subscriptions to its AAA24 membership service. As detailed in The Wall Street Journal's exclusive report, Google is investing roughly $75 million into A24 via its parent company, Alphabet. The research partnership deal will give A24 access to Google DeepMind, the artificial intelligence research laboratory purchased by Google in 2014. According to WSJ's report, Google's AI tech will be used to create new tools for "movie production & distribution," with A24's Scott Belsky stating that his production division primarily intends to use Google DeepMind for storyboarding. Belsky was, however, quick to state that said storyboards "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with." Belsky's rapid defense of the AI slop he intends to produce was likely in preparation for the deluge of hate that has since come his way, as A24 fans immediately began to eviscerate the studio online. Several fans on the likes of X and Reddit have absolutely slated A24 for its Google DeepMind partnership. In fact, the r/A24 subreddit is in full meltdown mode, as multiple posts have appeared in the past 24 hours featuring people cancelling their membership in AAA24, a subscription service whose benefits include a ticket to every A24 release. On one hand, perhaps this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, as A24 has been dipping its toes into the AI slop factory for some time now. The AI-generated posters for Alex Garland's Civil War in 2024 should have been our first warning. On the other hand, given the extremely poor reaction to said posters, I can only assume that the folks at the head of A24 live in some kind of fully insulated bubble that blocks out Wi-Fi signals, because you'd have to be terminally offline to not realize that your fanbase of film nerds, who love auteur-focused, artistically driven projects, wouldn't be on board with something like this. It would be sort of like if Bob Ross decided to ask ChatGPT to generate him a picture of a rainbow instead of painting it himself.

Google DeepMind signs AI research deal with film studio A24

Google DeepMind, a leader in artificial intelligence, is now joining forces with celebrated indie studio A24 to delve into the effects of AI in the realm of film. This partnership aims to equip filmmakers with groundbreaking tools and streamline production processes while safeguarding artistic autonomy. Furthermore, Alphabet, Google's parent company, has made a notable investment of $75 million in A24, demonstrating a robust commitment to the cinematic future. Google DeepMind and independent movie studio A24 entered into a partnership to explore how AI can support filmmakers and creative professionals, the companies said on Monday. Here are some details: The companies said the initiative will ⁠focus ⁠on helping artists develop new creative workflows and techniques while ensuring future tools are shaped by the creators who use them. In recent years, A24 has produced horror film "Backrooms," Timothee Chalamet-starrer "Marty Supreme" and Oscar-winning adventure film "Everything Everywhere All ⁠at Once," among others. Under the agreement, A24 and Google DeepMind will collaborate on ⁠multiple research and development projects over time. Alphabet's Google has also made a $75 million investment in the independent film studio, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. DeepMind did not comment on the investment's value. A24 will play an active role in developing new workflows, while filmmakers will retain full creative control, ⁠a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the arrangement is not an intellectual property or data-training deal. The partnership will give A24 access to DeepMind's research, infrastructure and global reach, the source said.

A24 and Google DeepMind to Form an AI Venture

A24 is getting into the AI game, inking a joint venture with Google DeepMind. The film studio and the Google AI lab will develop AI tools together that can be used by the studio's filmmakers and also funnel back into the Google ecosystem. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. As part of the deal DeepMind will invest $75 million in the project. DeepMind has collaborations with individual filmmakers like Darren Aronofsky, but this is the first known partnership with a full-fledged studio. Google is one of the few tech giants to have a video generator, the well-regarded Veo, and the deal is likely to further involve them in that game "We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them," Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said in a statement posted on Google's website. "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." Meanwhile the deal catches up A24 to where some of its competitors have already landed, with Netflix and Prime Video developing tools for filmmakers and Lionsgate building models in collaboration with startup payer Runway AI. The move is sure to accelerate the advent of AI into movies and television we watch, while also deepening a debate about how, or if, directors, should use these weighted models as part of their workflow. Some noted auteurs have taken a decided no to that stance, but a growing group of A-listers seem at least willing to entertain it. The announcement fits A24's brand as a forward-looking entertainment company while also figuring in interestingly to the biggest theatrical success in its history, Kane Parsons' Backrooms, which came out last month. The film was of course directed by a filmmaker who honed his craft and built an audience on a Google/YouTube platform, while influencers themselves are expected to use more AI tools in the coming year. More to come.

Google's AI Moves: DeepMind Invests $75Mn in A24 Movie Studios

This isn't the first such attempt but the fact that a tech giant and a movie studio are seeking to work together portends something bigger Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting omnipresent, though the word is still out on whether it can play an omnipotent role in humanity's future. The latest on this front is a new alliance between a Hollywood studio and a Big Tech giant. Google invested $75 million into the popular Indie film studio A24 - the creator of the latest blockbuster "Backrooms". The story appeared in The Wall Street Journal with Google DeepMind billing it as a partnership that is unique or "first of its kind" as they call it. Why so? Because the two entities will create AI tools for filmmaking with the tech giant receiving "feedback and guidance from leading" artists on the way ahead. Just to create further context, A24 studios has employed big names of Hollywood in recent times including Anne Hathaway and Timothee Chalamet among others. Sounds like a marriage made in heaven? It definitely appears so, given that till date Google's only connect with the entertainment world is via YouTube and this deal is a first time it's taking stake in a studio. Having said so, the alliance is far from normal between two very popular names in the industries that each eyed warily since the advent of AI models that could generate audio, videos and images of artists and personalities at the click of a few buttons. Readers would recall that studios had threatened lawsuits against AI companies on copyright violations. In fact, most of us recall the OpenAI-Disney partnership last year that came as a surprise and ended as no surprise when the AI startup shut down its Sora video tool in March. And down the drain with this move went a billion dollar deal that Walt Disney had signed off while at the same time filing legal notices against Google for alleged copyright infringements. How quickly the world of AI changes contours! Well, we aren't sure how this one will go but for now A24 partner Scott Belsky who is in charge of technology and innovation told the WSJ that mainstream Hollywood has been wary of AI because developers have pushed AI as a way to make movies faster and cheaper, which does not appeal to movie makers. As for Google DeepMind boss Demis Hassabis it is a good deal. "We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them. 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." Of course, these two cannot claim to be first movers in the field as Netflix had announced the acquisition of actor Ben Affleck's company earlier this year and Amazon's MGM Studios had come out with an AI unit focused on developing tools for TV and film production. Of course, they aren't actually catching headlines post these announcements. Hope Google does better!