Google has bought a British artificial intelligence start-up for a reported $400 million.
As reported by Recode, the search giant purchased UK-based DeepMind, apparently with the aim of improving its ability to deliver targeted advertising to users.
DeepMind was founded by neuroscientist and chess prodigy Dennis Hassabis - once called "the best games player in history" - with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman.
The company, which apparently has a team of about 50 people and has raised more than $50 million in funding since being founded in 2012, describes itself on its website as:
"A cutting edge artificial intelligence company. We combine the best techniques from machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms."
Google has not commented on the price paid, and DeepMind has made no statement.
The purchase comes amid a recent flurry of similar acquisitions by Google, who recently bought the military robot company Boston Dynamics and the internet-connected tech company Nest.