Just when they believed they were passed over for this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry, two scientists from Google's DeepMind AI research team got the call -- mere minutes before they were announced as honorees.

Half the prize goes to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper from Google DeepMind for using AI to solve protein folding, and the other to David Baker for tools to help design new proteins.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists today — two of which are significant figures at Google DeepMind — for their work around proteins, which the Nobel Prize committee describes as the “chemical tools of life.”

Google suddenly finds itself with two Nobel laureates on its staff. On Wednesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Demis Hassabis and John Jumper are recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The announcement was made by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Sweden.

The British computer scientist founded the AI start-up in 2010, which played a key role in helping solve the mystery of how protein structures form.

AI researchers have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for their work on proteins. Sir Demis Hassabis, who is the chief executive and and co-founder of London-based artificial intelligence start-up Google DeepMind,