Google is making a big play at the intersection of Silicon Valley and indie cinema, quietly investing roughly $75 million in A24, the studio behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and recent box office hit Backrooms. The cash comes as part of a new research partnership with Google DeepMind that both sides insist is about building tools and production workflows for artists, not about licensing or training models on A24’s film library. The timing is touchy, landing in a Hollywood that is still locked in a bitter debate over how artificial intelligence will reshape creative jobs and who actually benefits from the technology.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Mountain View-based Google put about $75 million into A24, in an arrangement that people familiar with the matter describe as a strategic research collaboration rather than a traditional capital raise. The deal, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is being explicitly framed as something other than a data-training agreement, and the companies say it will not, at least initially, give Google direct access to A24’s film and television library. The precise financial terms and timelines have not been disclosed publicly.
What the companies say
Google DeepMind is pitching the collaboration as a way to embed its AI work directly into how films get made. The partnership will “anchor Google DeepMind’s innovations directly within the creative process,” Eli Collins wrote in a Google blog post. The post describes a hands-on research effort that will span multiple projects and evolve over time as filmmakers experiment with engineers on new workflows and techniques.
Why filmmakers are wary
That kind of language lands in a town that has spent the last few years drawing lines around how AI can be used. Artists and crew members have repeatedly warned that generative AI, if deployed without guardrails, can undercut pay or be trained on creative work without consent. Those concerns helped fuel recent union negotiations and legislative pushes.
SAG-AFTRA highlights a timeline of bargaining wins and policy work that require consent and compensation for digital replicas and other AI applications, a sign of how seriously performers treat the risk of nonconsensual replication. For many in Hollywood, new AI tools arrive with a standing question attached: who stays employed, and who slowly gets automated out of a paycheck.
What it could mean for Hollywood crews
On paper, Google and A24 are trying to calm those nerves. The companies say the tools developed under the partnership are meant to speed up technical tasks, from previs and visual effects prep to editing and distribution planning, not to replace creative decision making, according to the DeepMind post. The pitch is that directors and editors get more time for the fun stuff, while algorithms handle the tedious chores.
Still, even targeted efficiencies can ripple through a crew list. If new systems make rotoscoping, color matching or shot preparation faster, that could change hiring patterns and day rates for Los Angeles post-production specialists, industry observers warn. The fear is not a single switch that wipes out jobs overnight, but a slow tightening of budgets as producers realize they can do more with fewer people and fewer billable hours.
Where A24 stands and what’s next
A24, once known primarily as an arthouse darling, has been steadily leveling up. The studio raised a funding round led by Thrive Capital in 2024 that valued the company at roughly $3.5 billion, Axios reported. The new collaboration with Google fits into that larger pivot from cult favorite label to full-scale media player.
Both Google and A24 say that specific project targets and timelines will be set through the research collaboration itself, rather than laid out in detail at the outset. They expect the work to evolve as filmmakers test the tools on real productions, which means the rest of Hollywood will be watching not just the announcement, but what actually shows up on set.
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