Zuckerberg Reflects on DeepMind Acquisition as Meta and Google Compete in AI Race

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently acknowledged that DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis skillfully leveraged then-Facebook in negotiations to secure a more lucrative deal with Google in 2014. This deal, which saw the AI research lab acquired by the search engine giant for over $500 million, marked a pivotal moment in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Nearly a decade ago, DeepMind was a relatively obscure AI startup co-founded by Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman in London. As interest in artificial intelligence surged, Facebook entered into serious discussions in 2013 to acquire the promising startup. However, those negotiations ultimately fell through, and Google emerged as the buyer the following year. The acquisition’s details were somewhat shrouded in mystery at the time, particularly regarding why the talks with Facebook collapsed.

In a recent interview with South Park Commons, a tech community-based in San Francisco, Zuckerberg hinted that Hassabis had strategically used Facebook’s interest to extract a better offer from Google. Zuckerberg mentioned that while he had indeed been interested in purchasing DeepMind, Hassabis managed to play both companies against each other to secure a more favorable price. He expressed his respect for Hassabis’s negotiation tactics, acknowledging the effectiveness of his strategy without delving into further specifics.

The acquisition of DeepMind by Google was a significant milestone for the tech giant, positioning it at the forefront of AI research. DeepMind has since concentrated its efforts on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), a concept where machines exhibit human-like cognitive abilities. This pursuit of AGI remains one of the most ambitious and challenging goals in the field of artificial intelligence.

In contrast to acquiring DeepMind, Facebook opted to establish its own AI research division, Facebook AI Research (FAIR), which has been instrumental in the company’s AI advancements. Zuckerberg pointed out in the interview that FAIR’s work has emphasized an “open-source” approach, contributing to Meta’s broader AI initiatives. This approach was particularly evident when Meta launched its Llama model last year, promoting it as an open-source technology. The designation of Llama as open source meant that developers, researchers, and companies could access and modify the model for their own applications. However, some critics have disputed this claim, arguing that Llama does not fully meet the criteria of true open-source software.

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