# Google DeepMind's $75M A24 Deal Raises Equity Concerns for Black Filmmakers

_Funding · published 2026-10-08_

Google DeepMind has invested $75 million in A24 to build AI tools for filmmakers, establishing a collaborative research lab described by DeepMind as "first-of-its-kind." The nonexclusive deal pairs DeepMind researchers with A24 filmmakers, with A24 Labs partner Scott Belsky emphasizing that the studio's goal is to preserve creative control rather than simply make films cheaper or faster.

Three-time Tony Award-winning producer Lamar Richardson says his gut reaction to the deal was "terrified." He warns that concentrated investment in AI R&D could accelerate automation that hollows out departments historically essential to the filmmaking process — and that Black creators risk being further marginalized unless representation and equity are explicitly built into the decision-making from the start. Richardson, co-founder of Ivy Lion Productions, frames the issue as inseparable from the broader question of who holds ownership and power in the entertainment industry.

## Sources
- [yahoo.com](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/does-hollywood-growing-embrace-ai-133247052.html)
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