Google invested roughly $75M in independent film studio A24 as part of an AI research partnership that pairs the studio with its DeepMind unit to build filmmaking tools. The deal gives A24 access to DeepMind’s research and infrastructure, with researchers helping develop new workflows like AI-generated storyboards, while keeping Google out of A24’s content library and data. A24’s technology lead Scott Belsky framed the partnership as different from rival AI deals that pitched faster, cheaper filmmaking, arguing these tools preserve creative control and won’t resemble the prompted generation that makes people uncomfortable. The investment matches what Thrive Capital put in during A24’s last round and lands amid a wave of Hollywood-AI tie-ups, including Lionsgate’s expanded Runway partnership and Netflix’s purchase of Ben Affleck’s AI startup InterPositive.
