Google acquires AI startup Mechanize talent in $1.5 billion deal
Google has received a boost in the artificial intelligence race. The tech giant has completed a deal to acquire experts from startup Mechanize Inc., according to public records.
Google has received a boost in the artificial intelligence race. The tech giant has completed a deal to acquire experts from startup Mechanize Inc., according to public records.
Mechanize co-founder and former CEO Tamay Besiroglu now works as a researcher at Google's AI division, DeepMind, according to his LinkedIn profile, Business Insider reports .
He was joined by more than a dozen other former Mechanize employees who joined Google, mostly involved in the “intermediate learning” process, a key step in building advanced chatbots.
Recall that the goal of Mechanize is “complete automation of all work” and “complete automation of the economy.” In essence, replacing every worker with an AI agent.
Google was previously reported to be in talks to acquire Mechanize’s technology and team for more than $1.5 billion. However, the final financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Meanwhile, former Mechanize chief of staff Guy Assadi now lists on LinkedIn that he has taken over as CEO of the startup.
Google has recently struggled to produce AI models that are perceived by the market as fully competitive. To gain an edge, the company has resorted to talent acquisition deals. Such deal structures, unlike full-blown acquisitions, typically avoid the scrutiny of antitrust regulators.
Last year, Google similarly hired a team from Windsurf, a startup that was developing AI for writing code. Its former head, Varun Mohan, now heads Google’s agent coding program called Antigravity.
Mechanize technology helps improve the programming skills of AI models — an area where Google has long had problems.
Earlier this year, Mechanize announced that it had raised $9.1 million in a funding round, valuing the company at $500 million. Before founding the startup, Tamay Besiroglu co-founded Epoch AI, which also specialized in testing and evaluating artificial intelligence models.
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