Google and A24 team up on AI tools for future filmmaking

Google is putting about $75 million into A24 in a first-of-its-kind research partnership that gives the search giant its first stake in a movie studio. The deal is designed to let DeepMind researchers and A24 filmmakers work side by side on new workflows and techniques for future filmmaking. It also raises a sharper question for Hollywood: whether Big Tech is backing artists, or inserting itself deeper into the production pipeline.

Google said the collaboration is meant to help creators expand their storytelling possibilities, with the work framed as research rather than a traditional production deal or content-licensing arrangement. TheWrap and Variety reported that A24’s existing film library will remain off-limits to Google, a notable boundary at a moment when studios, tech companies and artists are still arguing over what AI companies may train on and how those systems should be used. Reporting also placed the $75 million investment at roughly the same level as Thrive Capital’s stake in A24’s previous funding round.

The timing matters. Hollywood is still wrestling with generative AI after the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, when labor groups and creative workers warned that automation could undercut writing, acting and other parts of the production chain. Supporters of the technology argue that AI can speed up some tasks and widen what small teams can attempt, but the industry has not settled on where assistance ends and replacement begins.

A24 brings a distinct profile to the partnership. The studio has built its brand on auteur-driven films and is best known for Everything Everywhere All at Once, while reports also tied it to recent projects including Backrooms and Marty Supreme. That makes the company an especially revealing partner for Google, because the question is no longer whether AI will touch filmmaking, but who gets to define the tools and the terms.

The structure of the deal suggests Google wants more than a financial foothold. By embedding DeepMind researchers with filmmakers, the company is seeking influence over how future creative software is designed, tested and normalized. What remains unresolved is just as important: which specific tasks the tools will automate, how credit will be assigned, how copyright will be handled, and whether independent filmmakers will gain a practical advantage or face one more powerful platform between them and their work.