DeepMind to hire contextual AI researchers, license tech for $90 million

Technology May 20, 2026

Google DeepMind agreed to recruit more than 20 researchers from Contextual AI, including its co-founder and CEO, Douwe Kiela, in a deal worth about $90 million.
Along with the new hires, DeepMind also gets to use Contextual AI's technology.
This move is part of Alphabet's ongoing push to boost its AI talent and tools.

Alphabet acquihires face US scrutiny

Instead of traditional acquisitions, Alphabet has been using acquihires (basically hiring teams and licensing technology) to sidestep lengthy antitrust reviews.
Regulators are starting to notice, though. A US official has warned these deals might be skirting merger laws, so it will be interesting to see how big tech handles the extra attention going forward.