Alphabet's AI research subsidiary, Google DeepMind, has agreed to recruit over 20 researchers from AI startup Contextual AI and license its technology, a source told Reuters.
Alphabet paid between $80 million and $90 million to Contextual as part of the agreement, and Contextual's co-founder and CEO Douwe Kiela is among those joining DeepMind.
Google declined to comment, while Contextual did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This deal is the latest move by Google to strike licensing agreements to acquire talent. Last year, it paid $2.4 billion in license fees for non-exclusive use of Windsurf's technology and hired several key staff.
In 2024, Google signed a licensing deal with Character.AI for non-exclusive use of its large language model technology.
Acquihires, where major tech companies pay to secure talent and technology without formal acquisitions, are increasingly viewed by antitrust regulators as an attempt to evade merger rules.
