Google $GOOGL is putting around $75 million into independent film studio A24 as part of a new AI research partnership between the two companies, according to The Wall Street Journal. The deal marks the first time Alphabet's Google has taken a stake in a studio.
Google's DeepMind unit and A24 plan to develop new tools for movie production and distribution under a multiyear, nonexclusive agreement. A24's film and television library, along with the rest of its content data, will remain off-limits to Google under the terms of the agreement.
The last time A24 brought in outside money was 2024, with Thrive Capital leading a round that put the studio's valuation at $3.5 billion. According to the Journal, the size of Google's check is comparable to Thrive's contribution in that round.
Scott Belsky, an A24 partner who oversees the studio's technology and innovation work, said the partnership would not produce the kind of AI tools that have made filmmakers uneasy. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," he said. The new tools "won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with."
Eli Collins, a vice president of product for DeepMind, said in a statement: "We believe breakthroughs happen when you get technology into the hands of the best minds in the field."
One early project underway at A24 Labs, Belsky's 20-person tech team, involves using AI to generate storyboards — the rough visual sketches directors use to plan scenes before cameras roll. DeepMind and A24 have been in talks since before Scott Belsky joined the studio from Adobe $ADBE last year.
The partnership arrives at a delicate moment for the relationship between Hollywood and AI developers. The broader industry backdrop is one of friction, with entertainment companies pursuing legal action against AI developers over intellectual property concerns and creative workers vocal in their opposition to the technology. A Disney $DIS collaboration with OpenAI collapsed earlier this year when OpenAI pulled the plug on its Sora video tool in March. Meanwhile, Netflix $NFLX has moved in a different direction, buying an AI startup whose technology allows scenes to be modified after filming without requiring additional shoots.
Brand recognition has become a genuine asset for A24: NRG survey data shared by the studio shows that more than half of all moviegoers count themselves as fans, putting it in rare company as a label with marquee appeal of its own. At the moment, A24 has its biggest-budget production in history in the works — a film version of the videogame "Elden Ring" with a price tag of around $175 million, helmed by Alex Garland.
Alphabet has been expanding its AI investments broadly. Google has committed up to $40 billion to Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude family of models, in a deal that also includes a five-gigawatt cloud computing arrangement.