GoKawiilA24 is the independent studio largely responsible for making modern arthouse movies mainstream, with recent hits like Marty Supreme and Backrooms shaping cultural conversations.
Now the cult film production company is partnering with Google's AI-focused DeepMind team to develop AI tools for its filmmakers, according to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal. As part of the deal, Google is investing $75 million into A24's 20-person Labs team to create new tools for movie production and distribution. These tools will be available to A24 creators, but they'll also funnel back into Google's AI ecosystem.
Google previously partnered with Darren Aronofsky, a firm believer in using generative AI in filmmaking, and the director of movies like Black Swan and The Whale. But this is the first time the company has staked money in a Hollywood studio.
The search giant currently owns the massive video hosting website, YouTube, and one of the most widely available AI video generation tools, Veo. DeepMind's investment in A24 represents an expansion of its research scope, which has recently expanded into video games as well.
The deal between the studio and the tech giant doesn't allow Google to train AI models on A24's catalog of television shows and movies. Instead, A24 Labs is currently developing an application to produce AI-generated storyboards, the rough draft art created before a movie's visuals are fully fleshed out.
When asked for comment, a representative of the DeepMind team pointed CNET toward Google's official blog post about the partnership.
According to that post, Google's "specific goals, technical outputs and creative milestones of this initiative will evolve over time," indicating that the scope of this partnership may change as A24 and DeepMind foster a "deep research and development collaboration... spanning multiple projects over time."
A representative for A24 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
AI tools in cinema
The A24 Labs team responsible for creating the new AI tools is headed by Scott Belsky, who left Adobe's executive team for his new role in January 2025.
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