QWERTY: GOOGLE'S AI DIVISION INVESTED IN A24. HMMM.

Today, I launched out a new stream on my SEEDS platform called GRO UP, which is where I focus on particular aspects of how people would grow a brand - in this scenario, using newsletters - and then I curate a number of builders who do exactly that for the issue and get their perspective on it. You can read that HERE if you haven’t already.

One really interesting tidbit from the questions with my guests I found was not the aspect of growing the audience, but actually the behaviours of the audience in interacting with the person writing the newsletters, in that it is very very minimal.

Each of us have a reply here or there, but the people we are sending the newsletter to are largely silent!

So, for todays short GROUPED email, focused on that semi-recent news of Google’s AI Division investing in A24, I would love to be super inviting for anyone to reply back and let me know what they think of this news. I’ll even collate opinions and republish those thoughts, anonymous of course.

Or, just tell me what you think when you see me in Sydney next week, Melbourne the rest of the year, or Perth/Fremantle at start of December.

This was essentially late June/early July for this news: Google’s AI Division DeepMind investing $75million US into A24. Portions of the internet went bananas, but from my perspective, the story simmered down real fast and went cold. Pro-PR at play, or not that good/big a story?

For many this felt like an invasive pattern, where many of their beloved movies that are produced by their beloved studio, was now in bed so to speak with big tech, and that took away the purity of it all. That artistic vision and curation had been compromised in that very moment and decision, if it were a singular one that denoted the beginning of the end.

I was conflicted with the story, but more found it fascinating to ruminate a little longer. This was the studio that had released many bangers over the years and ignited many folks love of cinema as we grew very weary of marvel saturation and the lack of original cinema. Hereditary is very much a Top 5 of all time move for me.

Read a bit more about it HERE or HERE

FACTS

22 June 2026, Google commits ~US$75m to A24 as part of a multi-year, non-exclusive research partnership with DeepMind focused on filmmaking workflows.

They buy an equity stake in A24, fist time ever Google has invested in a movie studio, not counting their own investment in their own studio- a little incumbent by the nam e of Youtube.

The actual investment as positioned in the media is tied to the AI partnership rather than a capital raise, as Thrive Capital did in 2024 when A24 ended up being valued at $3.5Billion as a result.

THE STORY IN MARKET

What each side gets: A24 gets access to DeepMind's research and infrastructure, while DeepMind researchers work with the studio to build out new workflows. Google gets no access to A24's content library or its data. There is also no mandate for filmmakers to use the tools.

The first project is an AI storyboard tool from A24 Labs. A24 Labs is an internal innovation and technology division led by Scott Belsky, Partner at A24, co-founder of Behance, former bigwig for a while at Adobe.

BACKLASH

‘twas immediate. A24 Fan-geeks posting screenshots of themselves cancelling their AAA24 memberships, and Justine Bateman called the deal “disappointing” so soon after the anti-AI Kane Parsons' Backrooms succeeded at the box office (so was right around this time, off the back of its’ huge success.)

And A24's response as reported by Wired, was that it would "rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines". Honestly, pretty good statement in press, with my PR hat on.

SOOOOO….

I mean, since then, we’ve had Netflix acquiring Ben Affleck's AI venture InterPositive for a reported $600 million. jesus-h-christ, and Im not talking about the money here.

This is a truly interesting moment, where fandom feels violated, and with A24’s audience reported to be 50% 25 years old or younger, this is where the contention lives.

Now, with disclaimers popping up with other films producing stating definitively “not made with AI” (even though they would be, in some way, or form) this is truly a fascinating moment with where to reconcile your thoughts and feelings on A24 being publicly open about their association with AI tooling - while attempting to convey artist and brand purity is retained - amongst a wildly shifting world.

For me personally, I think I’m actually quite apathetic about it. Not Switzerland, more a pragmatist when it comes to A24 - a studio I have loved the majority of output from - being publicly called out like this for their alignment and decisions.

I’m fascinated by what’s ahead in the future, super terrified, and accepting that uptake of AI by big capitalist funding corps - of which A24 is definitely one no matter how much we want to regard them as an ‘indie darling’ - is inevitable. A24 ain’t our local creative shop, they are a juggernaut in their operation, but we are seeking strong stances from the individual directors/producers themselves on where the line sits, and that becomes a tad harder when people are disarmed from the outset if their movie just happens to be aligned with A24.

Late Night with the Devil is a great movie for example (not A24) but doesnt seem likely to hit that cult status it deserves, off the back of its own round of significant AI-focused backlash.

Send me a reply if you hate it. And on to the playlists, which just happen to be on a platform that a lot of others hate. If you have a better alternative for me, I’m all ears!

Gaz

A Little Curation For Ya

So, I started pushing out playlists last week, beginning with GROUPED MOOD. A few people really enjoyed that one, happy to be of service.

Today, here’s GROUPED DARKNESS. It’s a hard one to describe, sort of a mix of melancholy, with dark wave, with some particular tunes you’d be happy to singalong to around a campfire and others you’ll enjoy listening to in your local neighbourhood BDSM club. Check out a few select tracks below:

Like A Stone by Tricky & Marta (Trentemøller remix) is just an insanely insanely good song. for some reason, it’s the remix of Like A Stone from the Fall to Pieces album (2020) that just resonated, this has an insanely great mood running throughout, with these almost breathed vocals intertwining, and potentially, the single greatest sample insert of all time. All very dark and moody, in a very good way, as Tricky often does.

Pain by Boy Harsher - IYKYK. A certified synth-driven classic, and a guarantee to make a Boy Harsher fan out of you. Having seen this performed live in Melbourne, I can verify that the sold-out crowd went bananas too, as they do at every other performance around the world. What a tune.

Total Depravity by The Veils is this song I just haven’t been able to get out of my head for years, plus I love the fact they’re from NZ. Dark, moody, blues/indie rock, and this one just has this really fascinating edge to it with the album being produced by El-P or Run the Jewels fame, which makes no sense on paper.

Hazing by Sextile. I am rapt to see Sextile getting their kudos and fans now, after seemingly operating in the LA underground scene for years, they’ve definitely been building a more clubby, approachable sound of late (still classic tunes), but if you really want to hear some underground beats, this thumps.

Check My Profile by Odonis Odonis. This one just sounds huge in the car, or home stereo. dark, droning waves of sound mixed with baritone yet ghostly vocals, I’m never not in the mood for this one, especially its pulsating build up at the beginning.

Oh and last one, since I was writing about A24 today, I couldn’t not include Colin Stetson’s Reborn, which is essentially the soundtrack to A24’s classic Hereditary, my favourite A24 movie. Chills, from a saxophone. Who would have thought?!