Google wants its AI to code better. It may have found a shortcut, and it runs through a startup of about 35 people.
The company is in talks with Mechanize, a San Francisco startup that trains AI agents to write software, Business Insider reported. The deal would be worth more than $1.5 billion, four people familiar with the talks said. It is still in progress, and the terms could change.
What Google would get is narrower than an acquisition. It would hire some of Mechanize’s staff and take a non-exclusive licence to its technology. The recruits would work on evaluating and developing Google’s models. Both companies declined to comment.
Why $1.5bn for 35 people
Mechanize is barely a year old. Three former researchers from Epoch AI, an institute that measures how capable models are, launched it in April 2025. Its chief executive, Tamay Besiroglu, co-founded Epoch. Earlier this year the startup said it had raised $9.1 million at a $500 million valuation, with backers including former GitHub chief Nat Friedman, Stripe’s Patrick Collison, and the podcaster Dwarkesh Patel.
