The move comes amid Google’s strategy to move further into the physical AI space.
Intrinsic, an Alphabet-owned software and AI company, is joining Google. The platform, which was established in 2021 as one of Alphabet’s ‘other bets’ under the ‘moonshots’ research and development segment X Development, builds AI models and software designed to make industrial robots more accessible.
In joining Google, Intrinsic will continue to operate as a distinct entity, however, it will work closely with Google DeepMind and will tap into Google’s Gemini AI models and cloud services. Thus far, Alphabet has declined to share information regarding funding or the purchase price.
Commenting on the news, Wendy Tan White, the CEO of Intrinsic said: “The Intrinsic team has been working for years to enable access to intelligent robotics through a democratised platform, so more people can build and benefit from robotics applications.
“Combined with Google’s incredible AI and infrastructure, we’re going to unlock the promise of physical AI for a much broader set of manufacturing businesses and developers. This will fundamentally shift production, from its economics to operations and enable truly advanced manufacturing.”
Hiroshi Lockheimer, the chief product officer of Other Bets, added: “At Google, we see the immense opportunity in bridging the gap between the digital and physical world, that is also true for intelligent robotics in industries like manufacturing and logistics. We’re excited to welcome the Intrinsic team to Google, so we can bring breakthrough AI to more businesses and industries, at scale.”
In other Alphabet news, Alphabet and Google were in hot water earlier this month as both were at the centre of a new antitrust complaint filed by the European Publishers Council with the European Commission on 10 February.
The complaint alleged that Google and Alphabet are abusing their dominant position in general search services via the use of AI overviews and AI mode embedded within Google Search.
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