A24 is letting Google into the studio.
Google is investing approximately $75 million in A24 as part of a new artificial-intelligence research partnership between the independent studio and Google DeepMind. The cash injection marks the first time Google has taken a financial stake in a Hollywood film studio, aligning the search giant’s massive tech infrastructure with the studio behind recent cultural hits like “Backrooms” and “Marty Supreme.”
The multiyear, nonexclusive agreement is designed as a deep research and development collaboration in which researchers and filmmakers will work side by side. Eli Collins, VP of Product at Google DeepMind, said the initiative aims “to help artists develop new workflows and techniques” and ensure “the tools of the future are shaped by the creators who use them.”
The alliance comes at a tense time for the entertainment and tech sectors, which have frequently clashed over generative AI models capable of cloning audio, imagery, and video. While other Hollywood studios have wavered between litigation and brief corporate alliances such as Disney’s short-lived partnership with OpenAI or Lionsgate’s deal with Runway AI, mainstream filmmaking has largely resisted widespread AI integration.
Scott Belsky, an A24 partner who leads the 20-person technology division known as A24 Labs, noted that prior industry pushback stems from how tech developers have framed the technology. According to Belsky, developers have historically pitched AI as a tool to make films cheaper and faster, a concept that alienates creative talent.
“We think there are better uses that preserve creative control and support risk-taking,” Belsky told The Wall Street Journal. He added that the incoming suite of tools “won’t look anything like the prompted generation type of AI that people feel uncomfortable with.”
Rather than generating full video from text prompts, A24 Labs is currently building an application dedicated to AI-generated storyboards, the rough draft sketches used to visualize scenes and identify logistical issues before physical production begins.
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Balancing independent roots with global growth
For A24, the tech partnership introduces a distinct cultural paradox. Since its founding in 2012, the studio has built a fierce, young fanbase by championing unconventional, marginalized, and auteur-driven stories like “Moonlight,” “Lady Bird,” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
A recent Pew Research study, cited by Variety, found that roughly half of adults under 30 believe AI will harm society, highlighting a potential reputational risk for a studio whose opening-weekend audience for “Backrooms” was 85% under 35.
However, the investment matches a broader commercial expansion. A24’s revenue has more than doubled over the last two years as it branches into unscripted television, theater, and international production, including a newly established office in the United Kingdom. The studio is currently funding its most expensive project to date: a $175 million adaptation of the video game “Elden Ring,” directed by Alex Garland, according to The Journal.
DeepMind has indicated that the specific milestones and technical outputs of the partnership will continue to evolve across multiple projects over time.
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