Google's $650M DeepMind Acquisition Insider Revealed: Zuckerberg Offered More But Lost For This Reason

The new book "The Infinity Machine" will be published on March 31, revealing for the first time the 2013 acquisition battle between Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for DeepMind. Based on over 30 hours of interviews with DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis and multiple conversations, the book restores this key AI industry transaction.

Google's then CEO Larry Page convinced Hassabis at Musk's birthday party: "Your mission is to build AGI—why not use the resources I've accumulated?" Hassabis agreed due to tiredness of fundraising, and Google accepted DeepMind's conditions: staying in London, no military applications, and establishing an independent ethics and safety committee.

Meta's Zuckerberg offered more money, but Hassabis found he was equally excited about VR, AR and other technologies, thinking he didn't truly understand AI's core importance. After rejection, Zuckerberg hired Yann LeCun to build Meta's AI lab. Google finally completed the acquisition for $650 million and invested billions in research funding in the following years.