Google invests $75M in A24 for AI filmmaking tools partnership

Google is investing about $75 million in independent film studio A24 through a multiyear AI research partnership that will develop new tools for movie production and distribution, the companies said Monday.

"We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them," Demis Hassabis, chief executive officer of Google DeepMind, said in a statement.

The collaboration brings together DeepMind researchers and A24's 20-person technology team, A24 Labs, led by partner Scott Belsky. An early project involves using AI to generate storyboards — rough visual sketches directors use to plan scenes before filming. A24's film and television library, along with its content data, will remain off-limits to Google under the agreement's terms.

The deal arrives as Hollywood and AI developers navigate a tense relationship. A Disney collaboration with OpenAI collapsed earlier this year when OpenAI pulled its Sora video tool in March. Netflix has taken a different approach, acquiring an AI startup whose technology allows scene modifications after filming without reshoots. A24, valued at $3.5 billion after a 2024 funding round led by Thrive Capital, now counts more than half of all moviegoers as fans, according to NRG survey data shared by the studio.

The partnership marks the first time Alphabet's Google has taken a stake in a film studio. The $75 million investment is comparable in size to Thrive Capital's contribution in A24's previous funding round, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Belsky, who joined A24 from Adobe last year, said the tools developed through the partnership would not resemble the prompted-generation AI that has made filmmakers uneasy. "We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking," he said. "They won't look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with."

The companies described the initiative as a multi-project research and development effort focused on integrating advanced AI into creative workflows. Specific technical goals and creative outputs will be developed as research progresses, with the scope potentially broadening over time.

A24 is currently working on its biggest-budget production to date — a film adaptation of the videogame "Elden Ring" with a budget of about $175 million, directed by Alex Garland. The studio's recent hits include "Backrooms" and "Marty Supreme."

Alphabet has been expanding its AI investments broadly. The company 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. Separately, Google shares fell almost 6% on Monday after DeepMind scientist John Jumper left to join Anthropic.

For investors, the A24 deal shows Google's willingness to embed DeepMind technology into real-world creative production — a potential new revenue stream for its AI research unit. Alphabet trades at roughly 22 times forward earnings, with the market yet to price in any material contribution from media partnerships. The question is whether AI-assisted filmmaking tools can generate meaningful adoption without triggering the backlash that has derailed similar efforts at Disney and other studios.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.