Google Closes $1.5B Mechanize Talent Deal, Epoch AI Cofounder Joins DeepMind Midtraining

Business Insider reports Google's ~$1.5B+ talent-and-license deal for AI coding-agent startup Mechanize has effectively closed, per LinkedIn profiles: cofounder and ex-CEO Tamay Besiroglu is now a research scientist at Google DeepMind, and more than a dozen former Mechanize staff have joined Google, mostly on midtraining. Chief of staff Guive Assadi is Mechanize's new CEO; the technology license is non-exclusive, mirroring Google's earlier Windsurf and Character.AI deals structured to sidestep antitrust review.