DeepMind, the British artificial intelligence company, shares its offices in London with its parent company Google. But Google employees cannot enter DeepMind’s area with their security passes, they are treated as any other outside visitor.
This physical barrier between the two companies reflects the promise that Google made to DeepMind when it bought it for £400m in 2014; that the AI firm would remain autonomous, shielded from commercial pressure as it focuses on a single goal, the creation of machine intelligence.
But as the five-year anniversary of the takeover approaches, and with it the final payments to shareholders on the deal, Google is looking again at how DeepMind can prove its worth.