Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis said that his lab doesn’t “feel any immediate pressure to make knee-jerk decisions” on monetizing AI. A new book out Tuesday explains why.
How DeepMind Ended Up With The Biggest War Chest In AI
Sebastian Mallaby’s The Infinity Machine reveals that Hassabis sold DeepMind to Google in 2014 because he knew the AI race would come down to funding. Mark Zuckerberg offered more money, but Hassabis chose Larry Page after a dinner where Zuckerberg showed equal enthusiasm for AI, VR, and 3D printing. Hassabis wanted a buyer that understood AI wasn’t just another technology on a list.
Hassabis wasn’t always happy inside Google. Mallaby writes that he and co-founder Mustafa Suleyman tried to buy DeepMind back, recruiting Reid Hoffman to put up $1 billion for a spinout, but three years of legal work went nowhere. Google wouldn’t let them go.
That failed escape may now be his greatest edge. …
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