A24 secured a $75 million investment from Google and a research partnership with DeepMind to co-develop filmmaking workflows without surrendering its intellectual property. The deal signals a shift in how creative studios approach artificial intelligence, prioritizing artistic control over the data-licensing agreements that have defined recent tech partnerships.
Keeping the archive closed
Most major studios have partnered with AI companies by licensing their back catalogs. Lionsgate trained models on its film library with Runway, and Disney licensed characters to OpenAI. A24 is taking a different approach.
The studio explicitly excluded its content library from the Google agreement. "We wanted to ensure this didn't look like every other studio deal, there's no training using our data, content library, or IP," said Sophia Shin, a spokesperson for A24.
Instead of handing over existing films, A24 will work directly with Google researchers to design new tools for film development. The focus is on pre-visualization and storyboarding rather than generating finished footage.
Financial pressure drives adoption
The film industry faces severe financial strain - studios shed over 17,000 jobs in 2025, and independent financing sources have largely dried up. Tobias Queisser, CEO of film software company The Cinelytic Group, pointed out that only 3 percent of independent films recoup their budgets. In this environment, ignoring new technology carries a visible cost.
A24 built a $3.5 billion business by betting on unconventional stories and anticipating cultural shifts. Partnering with a tech giant on its own terms fits the studio's historical strategy of finding new avenues for growth without relying on traditional scale. This approach offers a template for independent studios exploring AI for Creatives, demonstrating how to secure technology investment without compromising core assets.
Protecting intellectual property
Unregulated copyright scraping remains the primary concern for creative industries. Deborah Harpur, founder of AI talent licensing company FanClub AI, said the A24 deal moves the conversation toward intentional, creator-led infrastructure.
By keeping its library out of the initial agreement, A24 protects its most valuable assets. Harpur noted that independent studios fiercely guard their back catalogs because protecting a multi-billion-dollar portfolio from infringement carries immediate financial value.
Google selected A24 specifically for its cultural influence and reputation for taste. The tech company wants its future tools built by the creators who actually use them, rather than imposing standardized workflows from the outside.
Why this matters for creatives
Fashion and design brands face the same structural pressures as independent film studios, including rising production costs and competition from larger conglomerates. Most current fashion AI partnerships focus on efficiency applications rather than co-creating bespoke tools.
A24's strategy shows how to use technology partnerships to secure investment, build custom workflows, and retain control over how new models develop. Alex Hunter, an artist who uses AI for fashion films, said the most defensible use of the technology is at the conceptual stage for ideation and visualization.
"The limitation, as always, is whether there's a strong enough point of view to begin with," Hunter said. "Without that, you don't build a world. You just produce."
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