Google acquires ProducerAI, brings team into Labs and DeepMind

The deal was announced on 24 February in a blog post by Elias Roman, senior director of product management at Google Labs. Roman described ProducerAI as “a creative collaborator” that enables users to “turn imagination into dynamic, comprehensive songs”.

According to a LinkedIn post by ProducerAI executive Kendall Rankin, the company’s full team is expected to join Google across both Google Labs and Google DeepMind.

The acquisition follows Google’s launch of Lyria 3, which it has described as its most advanced generative AI music model to date. The model was recently introduced in the Gemini app, allowing users to create music from text prompts or images.

Under Google, ProducerAI will operate using a preview version of Lyria 3 for music generation, Gemini for its chat interface, Google’s Nano Banana model for album artwork, and Veo for AI-generated music videos. All outputs are embedded with Google’s SynthID watermark to identify AI-generated content.

ProducerAI co-founder and chief executive Seth Forsgren told The Verge that the team is “just scratching the surface of what these models are going to be able to do once we harness everything that Google brings to the table.”

Roman said the platform differs from other AI music tools because of its conversational design. “It’s not a tool that you put in your prompt, roll the slot machine, and something will come out. The reality is that’s not how good music is made… and ProducerAI was really made for the back-and-forths that play out over time,” he said.

Founded by Forsgren and Hayk Martiros, ProducerAI began as an open-source hobby project called Riffusion, which went viral in December 2022. The start-up raised $4 million in seed funding in October 2023 in a round led by Greycroft, with participation from South Park Commons and Sky9. Electronic music duo The Chainsmokers joined as advisers.

The platform relaunched in July 2025 under the ProducerAI name, initially using its own proprietary model.

Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers said: “We are so grateful to see how this platform continues to evolve. It’s truly crafted around the musician’s experience. The founders are incredibly technical, but natively musicians, and understand the nuances of what makes a platform truly be an additive tool in the creation process.”

Google said it has also collaborated with artists through its Music AI Sandbox, a suite of experimental tools developed with DeepMind and YouTube. Grammy-winning artist Wyclef Jean is among those who have used Lyria as part of his creative process.

In his blog post, Roman said: “As we continue to build ProducerAI at Google, we will be laser-focused on creative control for artists, including through features like Spaces, which allows artists to use natural language to create completely new instruments, effects, and more.”

The acquisition comes as Google increases its activity in artificial intelligence. The company recently entered into a licensing arrangement with voice AI start-up Hume AI, bringing in its chief executive and senior engineers.

ProducerAI joins a generative AI music market characterised by rapid investment and legal scrutiny. One of the sector’s largest companies, Suno, raised $250 million in a Series C round in November at a reported valuation of $2.45 billion, with annual revenue said to have reached $200 million.

Suno reached a settlement with Warner Music Group in a copyright dispute and entered into a licensing partnership, but continues to face infringement lawsuits from Sony Music and Universal Music Group, as well as European rights organisations including Koda and GEMA.

Earlier this week, a coalition of artist representatives published an open letter urging the music community to “Say No to Suno”, describing the platform as a “brazen smash and grab” that “floods platforms with AI slop and dilutes the royalty pools of legitimate artists”.

Google has not disclosed detailed information about the training data used for Lyria 3. In a recent blog post, the company said it has sought to “develop this technology responsibly in collaboration with the music community” and has “been very mindful of copyright and partner agreements” in training the model.

Industry publication MBW reported that the training data is understood to include music that YouTube and Google “have the right to use” under their terms of service, partner agreements and applicable law.