DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis chose Google's $650 million acquisition over Elon Musk's offer in 2014 after venture capital funding fell through.

In January 2014, DeepMind faced a critical funding crisis when VC backers withdrew their financial commitments, leaving the AI lab in a precarious position.

Demis Hassabis received competing offers for the company, including one from Elon Musk, but ultimately accepted Google's $650 million acquisition deal.

This acquisition proved to be a pivotal moment in AI history, as DeepMind went on to develop groundbreaking AI systems under Google's ownership and resources.