A24 and Google DeepMind have officially entered into a multi-year research partnership, as per The Hollywood Reporter. This collaboration, which includes a $75 million investment from the London-based neural-network giant, aims to help artists develop new workflows and techniques by working directly with filmmakers. The initiative will be spearheaded by Scott Belsky, the former Adobe executive and Behance co-founder who joined A24 in early 2025 to oversee the studio’s digital initiatives.
It is interesting to see this specific pairing, as A24 has built a reputation for being a forward-looking, tech-minded studio. We have already seen the company lean into these themes with projects like The Brutalist, which used AI for voice-overs, and the recent theatrical success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms. Parsons, who built his audience on YouTube, represents an interesting intersection of digital-first creators and traditional studio filmmaking.
However, it is worth noting that Parsons has been vocal about his reservations regarding these technologies. He recently told The Australian, “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
This marks a significant shift in how artificial intelligence might eventually integrate with professional film production
Despite such skepticism from some creators, the deal with Google DeepMind is clearly intended to bridge the gap between high-end research and creative storytelling. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stated in the official blog, “We believe the best way to develop tools that empower artists is to work directly with them.” He added, “By collaborating with filmmakers and industry leaders like A24 from the beginning, we can build new AI features to support artists in authentic, meaningful storytelling that helps enable their creative vision.”
The partnership is not exclusive, meaning A24 remains free to collaborate with other tech entities, while Google DeepMind can continue its work with other studios. This allows the boutique firm to keep its options open while gaining access to top-tier technical resources that were previously reserved for larger competitors like Amazon Studios or Netflix.
For Google, the value lies in having a roster of respected auteurs who can provide feedback to refine their models, including the company’s video generation tool, Veo. This kind of industry endorsement is vital, especially when high-profile figures like James Cameron and Guillermo del Toro have expressed deep skepticism about the role of these tools in filmmaking.
Scott Belsky is already building a team of about two dozen people at the studio to manage these digital projects. He has been active in explaining the philosophy behind this approach, suggesting that the goal is to create specialized tools rather than relying on the broad, catch-all models that are currently flooding the market.
In a social post, Belsky wrote, “There are better uses of storytelling tech to discover, ones that preserve creative control and support creative risk-taking.” He continued, “These workflows are TBD, but excited for our Labs team to work w/ DeepMind team in this research partnership. Shared curiosities, and asking the right questions, lead us to the better way.”
One of the first projects already underway is a storyboard tool, which mirrors similar efforts recently announced by Martin Scorsese. Storyboarding is becoming a primary use case for AI in the industry, as it allows directors to iterate on their vision and pitch ideas without compromising the human-led nature of the final production. By anchoring these innovations directly within the creative process, A24 and Google DeepMind hope to ensure that the technology is shaped by the very people who will be using it to tell stories.
The broader implications of this deal are clear. As content brands shift toward building bespoke AI tools, the industry is moving away from generic generation and toward more customized, controlled outputs. While critics argue whether these smaller, focused datasets will be as effective as traditional models, the partnership between A24 and Google DeepMind is set to accelerate the presence of these tools in the movies we watch.
The specific goals and creative milestones for this initiative will likely evolve over the coming months and years as the researchers and filmmakers begin to work side-by-side to test and iterate on their ideas. For A24, this move vaults them into a competitive category alongside the largest players in the industry, providing them with the institutional knowledge needed to navigate the future of entertainment technology.
Published: Jun 23, 2026 04:30 pm