Latest news with #techacquisition
Entrepreneur
23-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Amazon Acquires Bee, Startup Behind Eavesdropping Wearable
Bee's core product is a $50 wristband that resembles a Fitbit and listens to everything you say. Amazon is making a push into AI devices with a new acquisition. Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch on Tuesday that it is planning to acquire San Francisco-based Bee, an AI wearable startup, but noted that the deal has not yet closed. Bee employees have received offers to join Amazon, an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch. The startup has between two to 10 employees listed on LinkedIn. Bee's core product is an AI bracelet that acts as a second memory, recording all of the conversations it hears to create summaries, reminders, and to-do lists for users. The $50 device, which resembles a Fitbit smartwatch, requires an additional $19 monthly subscription. Bee raised $7 million last year to develop the gadget, which can understand 40 languages and has a 7-day battery life. It is currently backordered due to high demand. Related: Samsung Is Looking into Making AI Necklaces, Earrings, and Other Wearables: 'All Kinds of Possibilities' Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo wrote in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday that she "couldn't be more excited" about the acquisition. "What began as a dream with an incredible team and community now finds a new home at Amazon," Zollo wrote. The acquisition is a sign of Amazon's intent to create AI wearables, a different path from the company's Alexa-enabled Echo speakers and home assistant products. Amazon has tried to enter the wearable device market before, with limited success. In 2020, Amazon began selling a health-tracking bracelet called Halo, which tracked activity, sleep, and body fat. By 2023, Amazon shut down the Halo device as part of a broader cost-cutting measure. Other companies are also looking into AI wearables, including ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which acquired the startup io for $6.5 billion in May to further its work on consumer devices embedded with AI. Samsung is also considering developing AI devices that users can wear, like AI necklaces and earrings, the company indicated earlier this month. Meanwhile, Apple and Google are working on smart glasses to compete with Meta, which released a new version of its bestselling smart glasses in collaboration with Oakley last month. Related: Amazon Is Ending an Important Privacy Feature for Alexa Echo Devices By the End of the Month Bee's wearable poses security, privacy, and legal concerns, given that it records everything around it. Eleven U.S. states, including Massachusetts, Florida, and California, require the consent of everyone involved in a conversation before the interaction can be recorded. Bee's current privacy policies state that the company does not save, store, or use audio recordings for AI training, but it does store what the AI learns about the user. The startup has stated that it only plans to record the voices of people who have consented verbally to the recording, per TechCrunch. Bee is also working on a feature to automatically stop recording audio based on boundaries like topic and location that the user defines, per the outlet. Amazon has previously come under scrutiny for the way it handles user data. In 2022, Amazon provided videos from Ring personal security cameras to law enforcement without a warrant or user consent. In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Ring to pay $5.8 million in a settlement over claims that Ring employees could view footage from customer cameras for years.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia Welcomes CentML Aboard
Nvidia(NASDAQ:NVDA) snaps up Canadian AI optimizer CentML, folding its talent and tech into its software ranks as the chipmaker extends its leadand eyes a $5 trillion market cap. The Logic reports that Nvidia has acquired Toronto-based CentML, bringing onboard CEO Gennady Pekhimenko as a senior AI software director and transitioning other founders and at least 15 engineers into new roles. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NVDA. CentML will cease operations on July 17, after raising roughly $30.9 million in venture funding. The purchase follows Nvidia's prior backing of CentML in its $27 million seed round and the startup's participation in Nvidia's accelerator program. CentML's compiler and optimization tools slotted neatly between AI models and GPU hardware, squeezing extra performance and cost efficiency out of existing chips. By integrating this IP and engineering team directly into its software arm, Nvidia can enhance its software stackfuelling broader adoption of its GPUs and reinforcing its end-to-end AI ecosystem. With NVDA up about 17% year-to-date and Wedbush projecting a run toward $5 trillion in market value over the next 18 months, this bolt-on deal underscores Nvidia's strategy of buying both capabilities and people to stay ahead in the AI arms race. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Meta's Scale AI stake buyout spotlights other major deals amid regulatory risks
June 12 (Reuters) - Meta has finalized a $14.3 billion purchase of a 49% stake in data labeling startup Scale AI, according to sources familiar with the matter. Scale AI said late on Thursday that the deal would value it at $29 billion and that the startup's chief executive, Alexandr Wang, would join Meta to head a new team focused on artificial general intelligence, the latest twist in Silicon Valley's race toward the cutting-edge technology. Founded in 2004 by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow Harvard University students and originally called "TheFacebook", the company dropped "The" from its name after securing the domain in 2005. It rebranded as Meta Platforms in 2021. The Scale AI deal comes when Meta, which has a market value of $1.77 trillion, contends with antitrust scrutiny surrounding its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. Here are Meta's major deals over the years:
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grab's $7B Mega Move Could Flip Southeast Asia's Tech Empire--But Indonesia Might Block It
Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB) is quietly pushing forward on what could be one of Southeast Asia's biggest tech shakeupsa $7 billion move to acquire rival GoTo. After years of circling each other, the two ride-hailing and food delivery giants are now refining a two-step deal: GoTo could first absorb Grab's Indonesia unit, then Grab would swoop in for control of the merged business. But it's not just about market strategy. The deal faces serious political and regulatory headwinds, especially in Indonesia, where a merger would concentrate 6070% of the on-demand market in one player's hands. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with GRAB. Enter DanantaraIndonesia's sovereign wealth fundwhich has kicked off early-stage talks to buy a minority stake in the new entity. That move could help ease nationalist fears over foreign dominance, job losses, and rising consumer costs. For President Prabowo's government, which has been flexing its populist muscles with wage hikes, subsidy boosts, and demands for driver bonuses, having a local backer in the mix might be a political win. For Grab, it's a potential green light. But the clock is ticking. Any deal still hinges on clearance from Indonesia's antitrust watchdog, and regulatory nerves remain high. Meanwhile, the market dynamics are shifting fast. Grab's revenue in Indonesia rose just 6.3% in 2024its slowest in Southeast Asiawhile GoTo has already exited Vietnam and Thailand. A tie-up would give Grab more firepower in Indonesia's 275-million-strong market, just as newer players like InDrive and Maxim try to muscle in. The stakes? If Danantara comes onboard, the merger could reshape Southeast Asia's tech landscape. If not, Grab might have to find another way into the driver's seat. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Bloomberg
09-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Quantum Computing Firm IonQ Buys UK Startup in $1 Billion Deal
US quantum computing company IonQ has agreed to buy UK startup Oxford Ionics in a $1.08 billion deal that highlights increasing commercial confidence in what has largely been an experimental field of computing. The takeover, which consists of roughly $1.07 billion in shares of IonQ and about $10 million in cash, will bring together Maryland-based IonQ's quantum hardware and software capabilities with Oxford Ionics' quantum chip technology, the companies said in a statement on Monday. The transaction is expected to close in 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
