Latest news with #DeepMind
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Google is said to pay $2.4 billion for Windsurf assets, talent
(Bloomberg) — Alphabet Inc.'s Google (GOOG. GOOGL) struck a deal to pay about $2.4 billion for top talent and licensing rights from artificial intelligence coding startup Windsurf following the collapse of Windsurf's agreement to be bought by Google rival OpenAI, according to people familiar with the matter. Singer Akon's Failed Futuristic City in Senegal Ends Up a $1 Billion Resort Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? How German Cities Are Rethinking Women's Safety — With Taxis Denver City Hall Takes a Page From NASA Google is hiring Windsurf Chief Executive Officer Varun Mohan and co-founder Douglas Chen, along with a small group of staffers, to work at its DeepMind artificial intelligence unit, according to a statement Friday. The company declined to comment on the financial terms, which it said don't include taking a stake in Windsurf. Windsurf had previously agreed to be purchased by OpenAI for $3 billion, but the deal unraveled in part because of tension with Microsoft Corp (MSFT)., a major OpenAI investor, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations and purchase terms. Windsurf didn't want Microsoft to have access to its intellectual property — a condition that OpenAI was unsuccessful in getting Microsoft's agreement on, people familiar said. That was one of several sticking points in Microsoft and OpenAI's ongoing talks about the AI company's effort to restructure into a commercial entity. Microsoft's existing agreement with OpenAI says the software giant is entitled to access the startup's technology. OpenAI thought it had an agreement with Windsurf and almost announced the acquisition in early May, according to people familiar with the deal. There had been a signed letter of intent, and Windsurf investors were given what's known as waterfall agreements, notifying each party how much money they were expected to make, the people said. An OpenAI spokesperson said Friday that the exclusivity period for its acquisition offer had lapsed, leaving Windsurf free to consider other bids. Microsoft and Windsurf declined to comment. Big tech companies have been snapping up executives and technology from promising AI startups as part of deals that stop short of full acquisitions — moves that some critics have said were structured to avoid antitrust scrutiny. Last year, Microsoft hired the founders and much of the staff of Inflection AI and licensed the company's AI software. In similar arrangements, Inc. hired top executives and other employees from startup Adept AI Labs Inc., and Google brought on co-founders as part of a licensing deal. Despite the transactions' structures, government regulators have opened probes into some of these kinds of deals. Last month, Meta Platforms Inc (META). took a 49% stake in AI data-labeling startup Scale AI for more than $14 billion and hired co-founder Alexandr Wang for a new team building AI 'superintelligence.' Since then, Meta has been recruiting other top AI executives from rivals Google, OpenAI and Apple Inc. as the technology leaders escalate their efforts to outdo one another. Meta has been making unprecedented compensation offers as it seeks to woo talent for its superintelligence lab, including a more than $200 million package for a former Apple distinguished engineer. Windsurf, formally called Exafunction Inc., is part of a crop of startups building AI-driven coding assistants — systems capable of tasks like writing code based on natural language prompting. Founded in 2021, Windsurf has raised more than $200 million in venture capital funding, according to PitchBook data. Other investors include Greenoaks Capital Partners and AIX Ventures. Bloomberg News initially reported in April that OpenAI was in talks to buy Windsurf. —With assistance from Matt Day. Trump's Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? 'Our Goal Is to Get Their Money': Inside a Firm Charged With Scamming Writers for Millions Soccer Players Are Being Seriously Overworked Trade War? No Problem—If You Run a Trade School ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Mint
a day ago
- Mint
Google's Veo 3 brings the era of video on command
Dream up a scene. Any scene. A tube of toothpaste releases popcorn when squeezed. A jellyfish jumps onto a beach chair and turns into a beautiful woman. Mona Lisa leans out of her painting and offers a pizza slice. Be as creative as you like and don't hold back, as artificial intelligence (AI) won't care whether your visualization is logical or not. Now, describe what's in your mind very specifically to Google's Gemini assistant, after tapping the video tab. Describe the sound you want as well. Wait a minute or two. And watch as your video appears. That's how easy it has become to create a video out of thin air. No camera, no props, no people. DeepMind has refined its text-to-video tool to the point where it generates beautiful-looking slices of video, complete with sound. But, of course, there's a catch. Several, in fact. First, you need to be on the paid tiers of Gemini—Pro or Ultra. Pro costs ₹1,950 a month and gives you access to the Gemini app with 2.5 Pro, limited access to Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, NotebookLM Plus, Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Vids, and more, plus two terabytes (TB) of storage. The Gemini AI Ultra plan is over ₹21,000 a month and gives access to more products, plus fewer limits to using them. Veo 3, the video-generating tool, can be found in the Gemini app (or browser) if you have the Pro plan, but is limited to three videos a day, and an overall maximum limit as well. The videos are of eight seconds duration and output in 720p resolution at 24 frames per second in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Veo 3 is capable of producing 4K videos, depending on the platform, but the limits mentioned are what you get with the Pro tier. Whatever the technical details, the quality of the tiny videos you create with Veo 3 is very nice. The visual experience is rich. Vivid imagery, smooth movement, and best of all, clear sound. The earlier Veo 2 had not integrated sound, and now that it is part of the videos, it completes them in a way that shows you what could be possible, were all limits to be removed. The sound is good enough to be quite loud and clear. You won't miss the purring of a cat or the fizz of soda. You can even have people conversing, though they will need to hurry it up to fit into the eight-second slot. The audio is synchronized. You can also have music if you describe it well enough. There's a problem, too. The Veo 3 version available to Pro users—called Veo 3 Fast—is really like a teaser. You can't actually do much that's useful within Gemini without bumping into the limitations. One rather frustrating limit is that adherence to instructions or prompts is by no means flawless at this level. I've been playing with Veo from its previous version and have actually only once or twice managed to have a video created to my specifications. The rest have what you might call goof-ups that make them unusable. For example, with Veo 2, I had once requested a video of Tom and Jerry, from the beloved cartoons, in which Tom was chasing Jerry around a large piece of cheese at high speed. Jerry was to win, as he usually does, by tricking Tom, in this case by jumping on top of the cheese, leaving Tom running. There was no sound then, so I asked for text that said, 'Who moved my mouse". The result was hilarious. The cheese chased Tom, who in turn chased Jerry. The text said, 'Who who cheese?" I iterated many times with no better success. You will often find errors like the one I described. I asked for a girl swimming in clear blue water, doing the breaststroke. She appeared, swimming in the strangest manner possible. Her face was underwater and staring at the camera, her arms were pushing the water backwards, and there was no sign of the signature breaststroke movements. If she had, in fact, carried on in that vein, she would have shortly drowned. Compliance with prompts is stronger with the more professional platforms—and those aren't cheap. Industry insiders may opt for access and will know what to do with those videos. For the average user, Veo 3 Fast is a glance at what's to come, some day not far off. If you get the video right, through a combination of good luck and clever prompting, you could use the videos on social media to illustrate something to students, to send a message, such as a birthday wish. It can be fun if you get it as desired in three tries. All the same, whether Tom chases Jerry, Jerry chases Tom, or the cheese chases both of them, the democratization of video has truly arrived, and what we will have to cope with is figuring out whether seeing is believing. The New Normal: The world is at an inflexion point. Artificial Intelligence is set to be as massive a revolution as the Internet has been. The option to just stay away from AI will not be available to most people, as all the tech we use takes the AI route. This column series introduces AI to the non-techie in an easy and relatable way, aiming to demystify and help a user to actually put the technology to good use in everyday life. Mala Bhargava is most often described as a 'veteran' writer who has contributed to several publications in India since 1995. Her domain is personal tech, and she writes to simplify and demystify technology for a non-techie audience.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Windsurf's CEO is headed to Google DeepMind — not to OpenAI
Windsurf's CEO and several key researchers at the AI coding assistant startup are headed to Google. On Friday, the $3 billion deal with OpenAI had been called off. "We're excited to continue bringing the benefits of Gemini to software developers everywhere," Google said. Windsurf's CEO and several key researchers at the AI coding assistant startup are headed to Google. In a statement to Business Insider, a Google spokesperson confirmed that Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan and others from the startup would be joining its DeepMind team as part of the company's continued investment "in its advanced capabilities for developers." "We're excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf's team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding," Google's spokesperson said. "We're excited to continue bringing the benefits of Gemini to software developers everywhere." Mohan and Windsurf cofounder Douglas Chen said in a statement to BI that the pair are "excited to be joining Google DeepMind along with some of the Windsurf team." "We are proud of what Windsurf has built over the last four years and are excited to see it move forward with their world-class team and kick-start the next phase," Mohan and Chen's statement continued. On Friday, The Verge first reported that Windsurf's tentative $3 billion deal with OpenAI was off the table. Business Insider previously reported that Windsurf's potential to roll up to OpenAI, a direct competitor to Microsoft's Copilot, had been sharpening tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft. Microsoft is OpenAI's biggest investor. Representatives for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Google to pay $2.4 billion in deal to license tech of Windsurf, WSJ reports
Google has agreed to pay about $2.4 billion in a deal to license the technology of artificial intelligence-assisted coding tool Windsurf, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Earlier on Friday, a Google spokesperson told Reuters that the company has hired Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and select members of the coding tool's research and development team to join its DeepMind division, in a move to strengthen itself in the race for AI leadership.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Google to pay $2.4 billion in deal to license tech of Windsurf, WSJ reports
July 11 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab has agreed to pay about $2.4 billion in a deal to license the technology of artificial intelligence-assisted coding tool Windsurf, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Earlier on Friday, a Google spokesperson told Reuters that the company has hired Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and select members of the coding tool's research and development team to join its DeepMind division, in a move to strengthen itself in the race for AI leadership.
