Google will be shelling out as much as $400 million to acquire DeepMind, a London-based artificial intelligence company that keeps its projects hush-hush.
Re/code got the scoop after Google confirmed the acquisition to them, but stopped short in specifying the price.
But more than acquiring a company, the deal is about acquiring the amazing talent involved in DeepMind. So much so that Google’s CEO Larry Page led the deal himself. Its founder, neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, was a child prodigy in chess that Mind Sports Olympiad even called him “probably the best games player in history”.
Steeped in mystery, DeepMind’s website can only describe its business as “building learning algorithms for simulations, e-commerce, and games”. But for the people within the AI industry, DeepMind is seen as a formidable player, aggressively recruiting the best in the field. They even competed with Google, Facebook, and Baidu for talent.
Big names in tech are among DeepMind’s investors, such as Founders Fund, Horizon Ventures, and Skype’s developer Jaan Tallinn. Sources say the company has secured $50 million in funding.
Google has been hiring experts in artificial intelligence in recent months. It remains murky what Google plans to do with AI, but some tech blogs say it may have to do with developing various products and systems for e-commerce.
Source: Re/code
