• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 27, 2014

Google has acquired artificial intelligence company DeepMind Technologies. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports put the price tag at around $400 million.

The acquisition follows a series of purchase made this month including Android development company Bitspin, along with Nest Labs, and Impermium. DeepMind marks the fourth acquisition in January 2014.

DeepMind founders Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman describe the company's technology as combining machine learning and systems neuroscience to build general-purpose learning algorithms. The company initially got its start supporting commercial applications in simulations, e-commerce, and games.

Initial investors in the company include Founders Fund and Horizons Ventures. DeepMind reportedly had around 75 employees as of December 2013.

"Human Brain" photo from Shutterstock.