Amazon to buy startup focused on AI wearables
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Amazon has reached a deal to buy San Francisco-based Bee, a startup making an artificial intelligence-enabled bracelet to listen in on and transcribe conversations.
Bee's $50 wristband can analyze and distill what it records to make summaries, to-do lists or other tasks. Amazon confirmed the deal on Tuesday following a post on LinkedIn by Bee CEO and co-founder Maria de Lourdes Zollo.
The deal has not yet closed and Amazon declined to provide terms. A spokesperson said Amazon will work with Bee to give users more control over the devices, which are set to automatically transcribe audio but can be muted.
"We imagined a world where AI is truly personal, where your life is understood and enhanced by technology that learns with you,' said Zollo in her post. She did not immediately respond to a query on Tuesday.
It was not Amazon's first foray into wearables. The Seattle online retailer marketed a line of wrist health trackers called Halo but ultimately killed the project in 2023. It also has a line of smart glasses embedded with Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa, under its Echo brand.
ChatGPT parent OpenAI bought former Apple designer Jony Ive's AI device startup called io for about $6.5 billion. Other startups have made early attempts at AI wearables, with mixed results.
In her post, Zollo thanked Amazon devices executive Panos Panay, suggesting Bee would join his group when the deal closes. Much of Amazon's AI development is being conducted in its Amazon Web Services unit.
Bee was founded in 2022.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malaysian Reserve
2 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
MACCO GROUP AND ALGON GROUP ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
Top Restructuring Firms Collaborate to Tackle Most Complex and Challenging Assignments HOUSTON, July 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — MACCO Restructuring Group, an award-winning, Houston-based national business restructuring and financial advisory firm, today announced a formal strategic alliance with the Algon Group, a leading boutique financial advisory and restructuring firm for complex and bet-the-company matters based in Miami, Florida. This alliance underscores MACCO's continued commitment to delivering innovative, high-impact solutions to its clients and partners. By combining Algon's 'transaction focused' approach with MACCO's 'capital-efficient solutions' and leveraging the deep expertise of both firms' professionals, the partnership creates a distinctive and powerful resource for distressed businesses across industries, particularly in real estate and hospitality. 'This is a distinctive and highly powerful combination of restructuring forces that includes exceptional business leaders, gifted financial professionals and accomplished investment bankers who can tackle, literally, the largest, most complex and challenging assignments across the world,' said Drew McManigle, Founder and CEO of MACCO. The Algon Group, founded in 2002, is a nationwide firm, providing distressed M&A/advisory and business restructuring services for both U.S. and international businesses. The firm has substantial restructuring expertise in both in and out of court transactions that resolve troubled debt situations for debtors, creditors, and lenders alike. Similar to MACCO's team, its senior leaders have served as both interim executives (CEO, President, CRO, CFO) and as independent board members to companies under operational and financial duress. With over $5 billion in successful real estate and hospitality restructuring, Algon is the preeminent firm for maximizing returns for real estate stakeholders. 'We believe the blend of MACCO's broad industry knowledge, incredible leadership and relationships throughout the middle-market sector combined with our sophisticated financial expertise and dedication to achieving success under any circumstances makes the Algon and MACCO alliance the 'Seal Team Six' for businesses in distress,' stated Troy Taylor, founder and President of the Algon Group. McManigle concluded, 'Together MACCO and Algon, with our award-winning approach to business restructuring, empowers us to provide agile solutions and decisive actions which enables us to 'put out the fire and protect the stakeholders from getting burned'.' Media Contact:Leanna Haakonsleanna@
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries
A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at a port under the Port Authority of Thailand, following the announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump would impose tariffs of 36% on goods from Thailand starting on August 1, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Monday most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15% to 20% on their exports to the United States, well above the broad 10% tariff he imposed in April. Trump told reporters his administration will notify some 200 countries soon of their new "world tariff" rate. "I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20% range," Trump told reporters, sitting alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. "Probably one of those two numbers." Trump, who has vowed to end decades of U.S. trade deficits by imposing tariffs on nearly all trading partners, has already announced higher rates of up to 50% on some countries, including Brazil, starting on Friday. The announcements have spurred feverish negotiations by a host of countries seeking lower tariff rates, including India, Pakistan, Canada, and Thailand, among others. The U.S. president on Sunday clinched a huge trade deal with the European Union that includes a 15% tariff on most EU goods, $600 billion of investments in the U.S. by European firms, and $750 billion in energy purchases over the next three years. That followed a $550-billion deal with Japan last week and smaller agreements with Britain, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Other talks are ongoing, including with India, but prospects have dimmed for many more agreements before Friday, Trump's deadline for deals before higher rates take effect. Trump has repeatedly said he favors straightforward tariff rates over complex negotiations. "We're going to be setting a tariff for essentially, the rest of the world," he said again on Monday. "And that's what they're going to pay if they want to do business in the United States. Because you can't sit down and make 200 deals." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday trade talks with the U.S. were at an intense phase, conceding that his country was still hoping to walk away with a tariff rate below the 35% announced by Trump on some Canadian imports. Carney conceded this month that Canada - which sends 75% of its exports to the United States - would likely have to accept some tariffs. (Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in Turnberry, Andrea Shalal in Edinburgh and William James in LondonEditing by Rod Nickel)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Trump asks for swift deposition of Murdoch in Epstein defamation case
Rupert Murdoch attends the 2025 Breakthrough Prize ceremony in Santa Monica, California, U.S., April 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -Donald Trump on Monday asked a U.S. judge to order a swift deposition for billionaire Rupert Murdoch in the U.S. president's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its July 17 article about Trump's relationship with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Republican president on July 18 sued the Journal, its owners including Murdoch, and the reporters who wrote the story asserting Trump's name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for Epstein that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared. In a court filing on Monday, lawyers for Trump asked the federal court in Miami, Florida to compel Murdoch, 94, to testify within 15 days, in part due to his advanced age. Dow Jones, the Journal's publisher, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dow Jones has said the Journal stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the lawsuit. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
