A24's $75 Million Isn't a Tool
Film studio A24 entered a research collaboration with Google's DeepMind on filmmaking workflows as part of a $75 million investment from Google. The key point is that this is not a deal handing over a content library or intellectual property to train AI models, but a research partnership in which creators help decide how and where the technology gets used. It marks a case where the terms of AI adoption shift from cost-cutting or production automation toward creative control.
The areas A24 is targeting first are early-stage creative work before principal photography begins, such as storyboarding, ideation, and previsualization. In this context, AI functions less as a substitute churning out finished output at scale, and more as a customized tool that lets directors and producers test scenes and widen their options. The same question remains for fashion brands: will they simply rush to adopt generic generative tools, or will they co-develop tools that reflect their own aesthetics and sensibility with technology partners, securing creative control and cultural influence? The judgment of the person using the technology becomes as important as the efficiency of the output.
