Google just completed its $1.5 billion-plus talent deal for AI startup Mechanize
Google has completed a talent acquisition deal for the AI startup Mechanize, bringing its former CEO Tamay Besiroglu and over a dozen employees into the DeepMind division. This move is part of Google's strategy to bolster its AI capabilities through talent-focused deals rather than traditional acquisitions.
Why it matters
Talent-focused acquisitions allow major tech firms to secure specialized AI expertise while potentially bypassing the regulatory scrutiny associated with full-scale corporate mergers.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Bloomberg/Getty Images Mechanize's ex-CEO Tamay Besiroglu, along with over a dozen other employees, now work at Google. The deal's terms weren't disclosed. Google had been in talks for a $1.5 billion-plus deal, per sources. Mechanize launched last year with a mission of automating every job in the world. Google has some fresh talent in the AI race. The tech giant has completed its talent deal with San Francisco startup Mechanize Inc, public postings show. Mechanize's co-founder and ex-CEO, Tamay Besiroglu, now works as a research scientist at Google's AI division, DeepMind, according to his LinkedIn profile. Over a dozen other former Mechanize employees now work at Google, per LinkedIn, mostly on the company's 'midtraining' efforts — a key part of building the best chatbot. Google and Besiroglu declined to comment.
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