Google DeepMind just bought a seat at Hollywood’s table. On Monday, the AI lab announced a $75 million investment into indie film studio A24, a deal TechCrunch AI reports is the first of its kind between a major AI developer and a film studio. The figure comes via the Wall Street Journal. A24 is the studio behind “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Marty Supreme,” and the recent hit “Backrooms,” and it’s worked with names like Timothée Chalamet and Anne Hathaway.
This isn’t a passive check. DeepMind is framing it as a working partnership, where the two companies build AI filmmaking tools together and DeepMind gets direct “feedback and guidance from leading artists.”
What DeepMind actually gets
Money buys access here, and access is the point. DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis put it plainly in the press release: “We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them.”
He added that collaborating with filmmakers “from the beginning” lets the company build AI features that support “authentic, meaningful storytelling” rather than replace it. Read between the lines and the strategy is clear. DeepMind wants creative professionals shaping its tools early, both to make them genuinely useful and to soften the industry’s resistance to AI.
Why this matters
What stands out is the pattern. A24 isn’t the first studio to wire AI into the creative process, and that’s the real story. According to TechCrunch AI, the moves are stacking up fast:
- Netflix announced earlier this year it’s buying Ben Affleck’s company InterPositive, which builds AI tools for filmmakers.
- Amazon’s MGM Studios launched a dedicated AI unit last year focused on tools for TV and film production.
- Google DeepMind now plants its flag with A24.
Three of the biggest names in entertainment and tech have all placed bets inside roughly twelve months. The status quo just a year ago was studios treating AI cautiously, mostly from a distance. Now they’re acquiring the toolmakers or partnering with the labs directly.
The controversy DeepMind is walking into
None of this happens in a calm room. AI in film remains a live wire in Hollywood, where the 2023 strikes put creative control and job security at the center of the conversation. Writers and actors fought hard for guardrails on how studios can use the technology.
That tension is exactly why DeepMind’s “work directly with artists” language matters. The company is betting that the way to win over a skeptical industry is to build with it instead of selling to it after the fact. Whether artists see a genuine partnership or a polished pitch will depend on what the tools actually do, and who keeps creative control when they ship.
What to expect next
For practitioners watching the space, a few things are worth tracking:
- What the tools look like. “AI features for filmmaking” is broad. Pre-visualization, VFX, editing, and concept work are all on the table. The specifics will tell you how deep the integration goes.
- Whether rivals respond. With Netflix, Amazon, and now Google moving, expect OpenAI, Disney, and others to feel pressure to stake their own claims.
- How talent reacts. A24’s credibility with artists is part of what DeepMind paid for. If creatives push back, that goodwill erodes fast.
The bigger signal is this: AI companies have decided the path into entertainment runs through the studios themselves, not around them. DeepMind’s $75 million is a down payment on that idea. You can find the full details in the original report at TechCrunch AI.