2014 DeepMind Bidding War Shaped Modern AI Frontier, Influencing Musk's Ventures

A pivotal 2014 bidding war for DeepMind, valued at approximately $600 million, profoundly influenced the trajectory of today's leading artificial intelligence research laboratories, according to a recent social media post by Aakash Gupta. The contest, primarily between Google and Elon Musk, ultimately led to Google's acquisition of the burgeoning AI firm, a decision that reportedly devastated Musk and spurred his subsequent involvement in other major AI initiatives. Musk, who had been funding AI research since the 2000s due to existential safety concerns, viewed DeepMind as a team capable of achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and sought to ensure its development prioritized human survival.

Musk first connected with DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis in the early 2010s, investing in their Series A round in 2013 and developing a close relationship with the team. He aimed to maintain DeepMind's independence, proposing an ethics board with veto rights over potentially dangerous research. However, DeepMind's need for significant computational resources and capital led them to choose Google, which offered immense infrastructure, over Musk's bid, which included backing from Peter Thiel. Google's acquisition of DeepMind was confirmed in January 2014 for a reported price between $400 million and $650 million.

Following this setback, Musk co-founded OpenAI nine months later with Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, explicitly positioning it as a counterweight to Google DeepMind. His goal was to control frontier AI development, but similar tensions regarding research direction and safety controls resurfaced. By 2018, Musk departed from OpenAI's board, citing disagreements over its future path and a perceived shift from its original mission.

The organization, initially established with a non-profit governance structure, later evolved into a commercial entity with a reported $10 billion partnership with Microsoft and the removal of its profit cap. "By 2023 OpenAI looks exactly like what Elon feared Google would do with DeepMind," the tweet stated, highlighting Musk's concerns about the commercialization of AI. This shift prompted Musk to launch xAI in July 2023, marking his third attempt to guide frontier AI development.

The ripple effects of these events also led to the creation of Anthropic in 2021, founded by a group of OpenAI employees who left due to safety concerns. "Three [labs] exist because Elon Musk tried to control AI development and kept losing that control," the tweet concluded, emphasizing how the 2014 DeepMind acquisition catalyzed a series of reactions that shaped the current landscape of DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI. The intense competition and differing philosophies around AI safety continue to drive the evolution of the field.