Google Buys AI Start-Up DeepMind

Google has reportedly paid between $400m and $500m to buy London-based artificial intelligence firm DeepMind.

DeepMind was founded in 2011 by chess prodigy and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis; Shane Legg, who works as a researcher at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at UCL; and serial entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman. Skype developer Jaan Tallin is an investor, along with venture capital firms Founders Fund and Horizons Ventures.

The company combines machine learning techniques with neuroscience systems, in order to build learning algorithms for e-commerce and games development.

Yesterday, Google spokesman Tim Drinan confirmed the acquisition, but declined to provide further information. According to Forbes magazine, Google attempted but failed to acquire DeepMind in 2012.

Web sites: www.google.com and www.deepmind.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.