In the world of high-value tech deals, negotiations usually begin and end with money. The DeepMind founders implemented an unexpected method which astonished experienced executives during their landmark acquisition by DeepMind.
Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, who co-founded DeepMind, travelled to California in 2013 to meet Google for acquisition talks. The meeting took place in secret to maintain discussion confidentiality.
The founders of Google evaluated DeepMind’s advanced AI systems without specifying a price because they wanted to invest in future research and AI development plans.
The duo thought that early valuation discussions would make their position weaker according to the reports. Their inquiry about Google’s future research investment explained their AI acquisition strategy because it focused on long-term goals instead of short-term financial gains.
DeepMind required more than funding because it demanded AI safety oversight as its unique requirement. The founders established an independent expert board to determine advanced AI usage policies.
Suleyman wanted to create a system that prevents unauthorised control of powerful systems. The method showed all the worries about artificial intelligence’s potential to change society. He used poker-based strategies to conduct his negotiations. He showed the support of well-known investors such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel but later confessed this was partially a deception.
Google executives were thinking about the same things as their competitors at the time. Company’s former Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette compared AI to atomic energy, which he described as both a dangerous technology and a valuable resource.
