Amazon to acquire AI startup Bee that offer wearables to record daily conversations
Amazon
is set to acquire a startup named Bee that specialises in AI on-wrist devices. In a post shared on social networking site LinkedIn, Bee's CEO
Maria de Lourdes Zollo
confirmed this and said that this acquisition will 'bring truly personal, agentic AI to even more customers.' Currently, Bee offers a $49.99 Fitbit-like AI-based device to transcribe conversations. This allows the device to generate personalised summaries of daily activities, reminders, and suggestions within the Bee app. Users can also grant the device permission to access their emails, contacts, location, reminders, photos, and calendar events. This data helps inform the AI-generated insights and creates a searchable history of user activities.
What Bee CEO said about Amazon's acquisition
In her LinkedIn post, Zollo wrote:
'Bee is joining Amazon and we couldn't be more excited!
When we started Bee, we imagined a world where AI is truly personal, where your life is understood and enhanced by technology that learns with you.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
What began as a dream with an incredible team and community now finds a new home at Amazon.
Ethan and I couldn't think of better partners to help us bring truly personal, agentic AI to even more customers.
Thank you to everyone who believed in us: our users, investors, and the entire Bee team. You made this milestone possible.
Huge gratitude to Panos Panay and Nick Komorous for championing our vision and guiding us through this journey.'
How Bee's AI device works
According to a report by The Verge, when tested, the device often misinterpreted background media such as TV shows, TikTok videos, music, and movies as real-life conversations.
As per the report, Amazon was also asked about its plans to apply the same privacy measures offered by Bee, such as its policy against storing audio. Responding to this the Amazon's spokesperson, Alexandra Miller, said that the company
'cares deeply'
about customer privacy and security.
The company also confirmed that it will work with Bee to offer users 'even greater control over' their devices as the deal closes.
'We've been strong stewards of customer data since our founding, and have never been in the business of selling our customers' personal information to others. We design our products to protect our customers' privacy and security and to make it easy for them to be in control of their experience — and this approach would of course apply to Bee,'
Miller noted.
Miller also added that the terms of the deal are 'confidential,' and that all Bee employees have 'received offers to join Amazon.'
Big Question Answered: Why Google is Merging Android and ChromeOS
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Wall St Week Ahead-Tariffs, Fed, tech results headline jam-packed markets week
(Repeats SCHEDULED COLUMN originally published on July 25, no changes) Aug 1 deadline looms for US trading partners Fed policy decision Weds, US jobs report Fri Results due from Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - A looming U.S. deadline for more severe global tariffs is among a barrage of upcoming events threatening to disrupt an increasingly calm U.S. stock market that has set a string of all-time highs. President Donald Trump has extended a deadline to August 1 for when higher levies will take effect on an array of trading partners unless deals are struck. That could boost market volatility heading into next Friday. Much more is on the calendar that could move markets. Investors will watch the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, the monthly U.S. employment report and earnings reports from megacap companies Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. "There is going to be a lot to digest for markets into next week," said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. "Expectations from the markets have gone up relative to several months ago," Miskin said. "So it's just going to be another big week for trying to meet loftier expectations." RECORD HIGHS, FALLING VOLATILITY The benchmark S&P 500 kept tallying new all-time highs during the week. Equities have recovered from a plunge after Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" tariff announcement set off fears of a recession that have since ebbed. The S&P 500 has surged 28% since its low for the year a week later, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has jumped 38% in that time. "We just got three years of return in three and a half months," said Chris Galipeau, senior market strategist at the Franklin Templeton Institute. "The equity market needs to consolidate this move." Market volatility measures have eased considerably. The Cboe Volatility Index spiked to 60 in April, but has been below its long-term median of 17.6 for most of July and on Wednesday posted its lowest close in five months. However, pockets of volatility have emerged in the past week. Eye-popping gains in highly shorted stocks such as Kohl's and Opendoor Technologies heralded the possible return of a "meme stock" craze that could signal some over-exuberance in risk appetite, at least among retail investors. Meanwhile, the record-setting rally has lifted valuations to historically expensive levels. The S&P 500 was trading at 22.6 times earnings estimates, well above its long-term average P/E ratio of 15.8, according to LSEG Datastream, which could make the market vulnerable to disappointments in the coming week. Higher tariffs on the European Union and many other countries could take effect on August 1. Trump had paused many of the most severe of his reciprocal tariffs in April, following the bout of extreme market volatility. "There is a particular belief and conviction that the market has that the administration just won't be as aggressive as they've been threatening because of what was experienced in early April," said Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab. "The next hurdle in the trade (situation) is really to see what sticks." FED OFFICIALS AWAIT TARIFF IMPACT The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady in its monetary policy decision on Wednesday, as central bank officials want more data to determine if tariffs are worsening inflation before they ease rates further. But tensions between the White House and the central bank over monetary policy have heightened, with Trump repeatedly denouncing Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates. Two of the Fed Board's Trump appointees have articulated reasons for supporting a rate cut this month. A packed week of corporate results includes Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta Platforms, four of the "Magnificent Seven," whose stocks heavily influence benchmark indexes because of the companies' massive market values. With about 30% of S&P 500 companies having reported results, overall second-quarter earnings are on track for a 7.7% increase from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES. That would beat a 5.8% estimated rise on July 1. The week ends with the monthly U.S. employment report on Friday. Employment in July is expected to have increased by 102,000 jobs, according to Reuters data as of Thursday, after rising by 147,000 jobs in June. "We've had relatively strong economic data that almost shows a modest re-acceleration in the economy in June and I think markets are priced to reflect this re-acceleration," Miskin said.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
US commerce secretary says Trump really likes TikTok, but app has to move to US ownership
US President Donald Trump likes TikTok but the Chinese-owned short video app, used by some 170 million Americans, has to move to US ownership, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said on Sunday."The President really likes TikTok , and he said it over and over again, because, you know, it was a good way to communicate with young people," Lutnick said in an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream."But let's face it, you can't have the Chinese have an app on 100 million American phones, that is just not okay. So, it's got to move to American ownership, it's got to move to American technology, American algorithms," he said. "I know the President is positive towards TikTok, if it can move into American hands."
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
BEE rolling out ADEETIE scheme in West and East Godavari districts
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Ministry of Power (MoP) has introduced 'Assistance in Deploying Energy Efficient Technologies in Industries and Establishments (ADEETIE) scheme' in Andhra Pradesh. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the fisheries sector in West Godavari district and glass manufacturing (refractory) units in West and East Godavari districts would be the first beneficiaries, according to a press release by BEE Media Advisor (South India) A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy. He said BEE Director-General Akash Tripathi had appealed to all State governments to immediately scale up the implementation of ADEETIE scheme, for which the Centre had allocated a budget of ₹1,000 crore. Of this, ₹875 crore is meant for interest subvention to ease access to concessional finance for Energy-Efficient (EE) upgrades, and ₹50 crore for implementation and capacity-building. The MoP acknowledged the proactive role of A.P., Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in implementing ADEETIE scheme, which is designed to fast-track the adoption of advanced Energy-Efficient (EE) technologies in MSME, which were the backbone of the economy that provides employment to millions and drive innovation across sectors. The ADEETIE is expected to leverage total investments of over ₹9,000 crore. The scheme provides comprehensive support to MSME from investment grade energy audits and DPRs to financing assistance and monitoring and verification, ensuring measurable energy savings, reduced costs and enhanced productivity.
