Amazon Hires Adept Cofounders, CEO, Licenses AI Tech for AGI Team

Jun 28, 2024, 11:10 PM

Amazon has hired the co-founders and some key employees of AI startup Adept, including its CEO, to enhance its AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) team. Adept, known for developing AI-powered agents to automate enterprise workflows, has also agreed to license its state-of-the-art multimodal models and datasets to Amazon. This strategic move mirrors a similar approach by Microsoft with Inflection AI, as tech giants seek to bolster their AI capabilities without triggering antitrust scrutiny. Adept, which has raised over $400 million and is valued at more than $1 billion, will continue to operate independently with around 20 employees remaining and a new CEO. The hiring and technology licensing are seen as part of Amazon's broader efforts to advance its AI development and maintain competitiveness in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.