Latest news with #AlexandraMiller
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Watch out Fitbit and Apple Watch, Amazon has entered the chat
You've seen them on wrists and fingers everywhere - at the gym, in the office, on the subway. Smartwatches and fitness trackers have become the quiet uniform of modern life. For many, they track steps. For others, they serve as sleep monitors, heart rate checkers, or reminders to stand every hour. But despite their popularity, most of these devices do the exact same thing. And frankly, they've started to Whether it's an Apple Watch, a Fitbit, or a Garmin, the core experience hasn't evolved much over the past few years. Related: Amazon's latest products go after a new type of customer Sure, there are better sensors and more polished apps. But the function is nearly identical: collecting health data and feeding it back to you in yet another dashboard you'll probably stop checking. What wearables haven't done, at least not well, is make your life easier in the moment. That may be why one small company decided to build something different. And now, a major tech giant just announced plans to acquire that company, marking a bold return to a space it once gave up on. That company is Amazon. And the startup it's buying is called Bee. Amazon confirmed this week that it will acquire Bee, a San Francisco-based startup behind a $49.99 AI-powered wristband. Bee's device is sleek and screenless, but packed with purpose. It uses onboard microphones and generative AI to listen to daily conversations - like work calls, casual chats, or even errands shouted across the room - and then distills that information into summaries, reminders, or to-do lists. Think: a wearable that doesn't just track your health, it helps you manage your life. In a LinkedIn post, Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo described the vision as "truly personal, agentic AI." Related: Apple Watch, Fitbit rival stuns with bold message "We imagined a world where your life is understood and enhanced by technology that learns with you," she wrote. Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller confirmed the acquisition but didn't share financial details. The move comes as Amazon expands its AI ambitions with projects like the shopping assistant Rufus and a revamped Alexa voice assistant. It also marks a second swing at wearables after Amazon discontinued its Halo fitness tracker in 2023. This time, though, the angle isn't frictionless productivity. Apple and Fitbit have long defined what wearables are supposed to do. Track your steps. Nudge you to stand. Alert you when your heart rate spikes. But those features haven't changed much in the past five years, and they haven't solved a bigger problem: information overload. Bee offers something different. Its core value isn't movement tracking or health metrics; it's saving time and promoting mental clarity. Instead of keeping you glued to your screen, it wants to take tasks off your mind. That kind of AI-assisted memory could appeal to students, professionals, parents, and anyone juggling a busy life. And because it's currently priced at just $49.99, it lowers the barrier to entry significantly. By comparison, the Apple Watch SE starts at $249. Fitbit's latest models range from $100 to $300. This isn't just another gadget - it's a rethink of what a wearable should be. With Amazon backing it, Bee now has the infrastructure to scale, and the resources to improve. If Apple, Google, WHOOP, and Meta weren't already watching, they are now. And with OpenAI, Humane, and others chasing similar hardware ambitions, the AI-on-your-body race is officially on. Related: Amazon's Alexa AI upgrade is even worse than expected The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Tom's Guide
22-07-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Amazon buys wearable AI startup Bee, a wrist device that hears and transcribes every word you speak
As Amazon spends this year attempting to bolster its AI bonafides, the internet retail giant is reportedly acquiring Bee, a startup that makes an AI wearable for your wrist. The announcement was made by Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo on LinkedIn who wrote she "couldn't think of better partners to help us bring truly personal, agentic AI to even more customers." Amazon confirmed the acquisition in an email to Tom's Guide, though noted that the deal "isn't closed yet" and the two entities are still two companies. What is Bee? (Image credit: Bee) Bee is a recent startup that makes a $49.99 Fitbit-esque wrist device, dubbed the Bio Pioneer edition that is still in preorder and slated to launch in September. The device is meant to listen to your conversations through your day and then use AI to transcribe everything said by and around you. From there the AI agent will generate personalized summaries of your day plus reminders and suggestions in the Bee app. You can also let the Bee access your calendar, contacts, emails, location, photos and reminders to help the AI's insights and send information. With Amazon, we were told that Bee is working on a number of new features to "provide even greater control over" their devices. Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors "We're excited to partner with the Bee team to continue inventing in this space," Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller said in an email. Is it any good? (Image credit: Bee) Some have tried out the device, The Verge's Victoria Song went hands on with the Bee and described it as a "glimmer of a good idea." She was skeptical that we need to record our conversations all the time and found that it confused real-life conversations with media playing in the background. Plus, there are privacy concerns around Bee, though Lourdes has said previously that Bee doesn't store any recordings. Before pre-sales opened the company emphasized that they wanted to profit via device sales and subscriptions. However, compared to the Humane AI Pin, Rabbit R1 and Friend pendant, Song did say the Bee is the "most successful AI wearable" she's tried with the cavaet that it's a very low bar. We reached out to Bee for comment on how it plans to partner with Amazon and its goals with the new partnership. They have not responded as of publication but we will update if they do. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
The Verge
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Amazon buys Bee AI wearable that listens to everything you say
Amazon is acquiring Bee, a startup that puts AI on your wrist. Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo says on LinkedIn that the company is joining Amazon to help 'bring truly personal, agentic AI to even more customers.' Bee makes a $49.99 Fitbit-like device that listens in on your conversations while using AI to transcribe everything that you and the people around you say, allowing it to generate personalized summaries of your days, reminders, and suggestions from within the Bee app. You can also give the device permission to access your emails, contacts, location, reminders, photos, and calendar events to help inform its AI-generated insights, as well as create a searchable history of your activities. My colleague Victoria Song got to try out the device for herself and found that it didn't always get things quite right. It tended to confuse real-life conversations with the TV shows, TikTok videos, music, and movies that it heard. When asked about Amazon's plans to apply the same privacy measures offered by Bee, such as its policy against storing audio, Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller says the company 'cares deeply' about customer privacy and security. '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,' Miller says. '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 also notes that the deal isn't yet closed, and its terms are 'confidential.' All Bee employees have 'received offers to join Amazon.' Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Amazon Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Wearable
Al Jazeera
30-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Trump 'chipping away at civil liberties' in ban on foreign students
Alexandra Miller, interim executive director for Vecina, analyses Trump's decision to revoke international student visas and explores his motives.
Al Jazeera
29-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Why is Donald Trump cracking down on international students?
It is the latest move by the Trump administration in a campaign against US universities and international students: a decision to revoke the visas of Chinese students, who number in the hundreds of thousands in the United States. The US secretary of state has also announced the suspension of interviews for new student visa applicants – and an increase in the vetting of their social media postings. With China being the second-biggest source of international students in the US after India, the reduction in revenues for American schools and universities is expected to be heavy. US President Donald Trump has already cut funding to Harvard University. How are academia and research likely to be affected in the US – and around the world? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Clay Harmon – Executive director of the Association of International Enrollment Management Alexandra Miller – Immigration lawyer and senior adviser to Vecina, a non-profit group advocating for immigrant justice Josef Gregory Mahoney – Professor of politics and international relations, East China Normal University
